Forced Together
by MoodyMoony241
Summary: James and Lily hate each other, but they've got to work together as Head students. What happens when students decide to put on Romeo and Juliet? I don't own anything that's come out of the HP Series, only new people and the plot. Rated T for mild language
1. Bad News

**Hey, hey! A new story, as promised. Hope you like!**

James Potter hated Lily Evans. And Lily Evans hated James Potter. From the day they met, they saw each other's faults and nothing more. To Lily, James was a stuck-up, snobbish rich boy who got what he wanted without ever hearing the word 'no'. To James, Lily was a rude girl who only thought about school and how smart she was. This was how it was for six years until something remarkable happened.

"Oi, Potter! Watch it! Get out of my way." Lily was trying to find an empty compartment on the Hogwarts express.

"Watch _your_self, Evans!" James was on the same mission.

"What the bloody hell did you say to me?!"

"You know very well what I said!"

"Augh! Potter!" They had gotten stuck in the aisle. Or, rather, their trunks had, tangled up in one another. They left each other in a bad mood. James had luck at one end of the train and saved seats for himself and his three best friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Lily on the other hand found nothing at the other end of the train and so started her search anew, pacing back and forth along the aisle. Every compartment was either full, or contained frightening Slytherins. Everyone except James'.

"As much as I _don't_ want to sit here, may I?" Lily asked, ignoring James.

"No, Evans! Get lost. It's your own fault for not getting here earlier."

"Shut it Potter, I wasn't asking you." He scowled, but shut up nonetheless.

"You can sit with us, Lily."

"Thank you, Remus." She heaved her trunk into her arms, but regrettably was unable to reach the top shelf, where the only space available was.

"Here, let me help you with that, Evans."

"Thanks, Black." The shaggy haired boy could reach the shelf easily and did so, standing right next to Lily, their shoulders touching. "So, where do I sit?" Lily inquired, trying to suppress a blush. Sirius had been sitting across from James, next to Peter. Remus was next to James. Lily pushed Peter over (he was asleep and wouldn't mind) and took the seat across from Remus. She also found herself next to Sirius.

"So…" Sirius said into the silence five minutes later. James was sulking, Remus was reading, and Peter was still reading. Lily was blushing slightly and had her head bent over a journal, writing quickly. "What's that you're writing, Evans?"

"Oh. It's just a journal." Lily turned redder.

"Really? So what are you writing?"

"…Things… Really, Black. It's none of your business," she had to say when he leaned over to read over her shoulder.

"Okay, calm down."

"I am calm." Lily finished writing and shoved the journal back into her bag, bored after only a few seconds with nothing to do. She looked warily over at James.

"So, Evans. What have you got planned for this year?" Sirius pestered her once more.

"What?"

"Well, we all knew you'd end up being the Head Girl. Aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I just haven't thought of anything yet….I suppose we could have a dance or a special appearance by someone famous…I don't really know…"

"You've got to have some idea. I mean, Prongs-"

"What does Potter have to do with anything? It's not like he's Head Boy…"

"Why couldn't I be?" James had a slight frown on his face. Lily laughed, James eyebrows rose.

"You're James Potter. Dumbledore would have to be off his rocker to make _you_ Head Boy." She laughed some more. James should have been angry, but he was a bit preoccupied. "What? You're not angry?" Lily was confused.

"No…" James breathed, his mind far off. Well, perhaps not that far off…

"Why aren't you angry, Mate?"

"What?" He came out of his daze. "Why would I be angry?" The others- well, those who were conscious- exchanged baffled looks. "What's going on? What happened?" James was really confused now.

"N-nothing, Mate." Sirius waved it away, casting another bewildered look in Lily's direction.

The five seventh year students left the train and crowded into one of the thestrel-drawn carriages. Fortunately, no one could see them. James was still far off, in a land of his own, Peter had fallen asleep again, and Remus was almost finished his book. So once again, it was just Sirius and Lily.

"So…"

"Why do you think Potter's acting so barmy? I mean, he hasn't yelled at me since I asked to sit with you lot."

"I don't know. Maybe he's thinking about Head Boy Duties." She stared at him, amazed that such a thought would cross his mind. She started laughing again. James blinked a few times and looked up, a silly smile on his face. Lily stopped and gave him an odd look. Sirius' face matched. Remus looked up, disinterestedly.

"Oookay then… So anyways…" The carriage pulled up at the school and they tumbled out, Sirius having to shake both Peter and James rather violently before pulling them out and pushing them towards the main doors. They each stumbled through the doors and to a place at the Hufflepuff table. More strange looks were shared. The two semi-conscious boys were heaved out of their seats and into new ones at the proper table. The Sorting was done and sat through, Peter becoming more alert has he realized that food was imminent. A fantastic arrangement of food appeared and Peter was fully revived.

James could not be helped. No matter how loud Sirius yelled, or how much sense Remus tried to talk him into, James remained in his dazed state. Finally Lily tried feeding him. That ended with mashed potatoes all over James' face and Sirius guffawing. Lily giggled at the somewhat disgusted look on Remus' face. James blinked and gave that odd smile again. Lily stopped and gave him a quizzical look. Peter, meanwhile, was plowing through his food like he would never see a piece of meat again in his life, completely oblivious to what was going on.

By the end of supper, James was still off in his own world, Remus was terribly concerned, Sirius was very much openly amused, Peter was oblivious and somehow still hungry, and Lily was confused. Sirius took a hold of James and started to lead him off towards the common room. Peter plodded behind, trying to catch Sirius' attention. Lily and Remus walked together a bit farther behind, discussing what might be the cause of James'….strangeness. They didn't come to a conclusion as quickly as you might think the two smartest students of Hogwarts would.

**Well? Did it live up to your expectations? If not, oh well, there's always the next chapters. Please review! :)**


	2. Possibilities

**I know, you're all terribly upset that I told you I didn't know what the title would be and now this is the second chapter I've posted in less than a week from saying so. But hey, it's a new chapter. Why not enjoy?**

Sirius had been contemplating James' odd behavior quietly all the way to the common room. As the group sat down by a small crackling fire that still gave off quite a lot of heat, he thought he had figured it out… somewhat.

"Wait a second. James didn't start acting like a dummy until Evans laughed at the idea of him being Head Boy."

"So he's offended?" Remus asked.

"I guess… but what's with him grinning like a fool?" Lily questioned. They all thought about it for a minute. Lily let her mind wander to other subjects. Like what the big event would be for the year.

"I've got it!!"

"You know why he's acting strange?"

"What? Oh, no, not that. We should put on a play!" Sirius and Peter looked at her strangely. Remus smiled a bit.

"That's certainly a new idea," he said. Lily grinned.

"It's going to be great. We could do A Midsummer's Night Dream, or Much Ado About Nothing, or Taming of the Shrew or-or-"

"What about Romeo and Juliet?" Lily looked at Sirius.

"What?"

"Romeo and Juliet."

"I heard you… but why?"

"Why not? It's a classic."

"But-"

"Come on… there's no reason not to."

"I suppose… but we won't be the only ones who'll have a say. Romeo and Juliet is kind of dark… Potter- what do you think?  
"Beautiful…" he said breathlessly.

"What?"

"Wha-? Oh, I mean, what was the question?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"What do you think of putting on a play?"

"Whatever you say…" Again, the group was confused about the breathless, dreamy, tone his voice was dripping with. Lily, who was flabbergasted that James wasn't acting in the least bit hostile (in fact, quite the opposite), stood there with her mouth open for a few seconds before shutting it and coming back to her senses.

"Okay… perhaps I'll get a real answer tomorrow. Until then, I'll see you all." Lily turned to leave the common room.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"I'm not sleeping in the dorm this year. As Head Girl, I get my own tower."

"Don't you share that tower with the Head Boy?" The partially smug look on Lily's face fell as she realized that she would be sharing a confined space with James Potter for the whole year. Replacing her good-humored look, one of horror now stood there. She grimaced and turned to walk away quickly towards the portrait hole. Sirius grinned and Remus stood, hoisting James off the sofa with an arm placed under his elbow.

"Up you go, Prongs." He dragged the dreamy James over to Lily. She turned and gave Remus a quizzical look that turned into one of disbelieving amazement as she realized what Remus wanted her to do.

"Ohhhhhhhhh no! I am not walking him up there. Isn't it bad enough I have to deal with him all year?"

"I admit that for you, it's bad. But none of us know the password and I have the feeling that as soon as you get to your room, you're going to collapse into an almost undisturbed sleep. So you have to take him…now." Lily looked horrified. However, she grudgingly took over Remus' hold on James and walked him out of the common room, disgusted. James, despite his attitude on the train, was happy as a clam. An even goofier grin spread across his face as he felt her touch and heard her say, "Come on, Potter."

After a few minutes of walking, Lily stopped and tried to shake James out of his…mood.

"Potter!"

"Yes, Lily?"

"That's Evans. And you need to snap out of it."

"Snap out of what?"

"You're acting like a fool."

"If I am, it's only because I'm hopelessly in love."

"You're hopeless, all right," Lily grumbled, pulling him behind her once more. James continued grinning as Lily got increasingly annoyed and frustrated. Finally, the two arrived at the entrance to the Head Tower.

"Amortentia," Lily told the statue of Hermes. Immediately, a tapestry rolled up and a door emerged from the seemingly bare stone wall behind it. The door opened with barely a push 

and Lily marched her charge trough the entryway. They went up a flight of stairs to find a relatively short hallway with two doors. Lily opened the first, and finding her bags, opened the other and pushed James in.

"Get to bed, Potter." He mumbled something in response that sounded like "Okay, my dearest, darling Lilyflower."

"I told you to call me Evans!" She called from her room. Not surprisingly, James was able to hear her through two doors and quite a lot of open space. Then again, his ear was pressed against the door. A tiny smile played on his lips as he stood and readied himself for bed.

Lily, contrary to Remus' beliefs, didn't collapse into sleep before performing an easy charm as she supervised the magical unpacking of her belongings. She watched as posters tacked themselves to the wall, her books lined up on the shelves, her toiletries flew into the bathroom, her clothes inserted themselves into the proper drawers and the wardrobe, and her quills, ink, and parchment dutifully found spots on the small desk by the window. Lily smiled, satisfied with the effective and successful casting of the charm. She pulled out a pair of pajamas and went to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth before climbing into bed with a book.

**Hope you liked it! Please review. There will probably be a new chapter up by the weekend. If not, by the end of the weekend. :)**


	3. Collaboration

**Hey! Yes, it's time for a new chapter! Hope you like it. **

James woke the next morning, the memories of yesterday flooding back through his head. He had nearly drooled over Lily Evans. But he hated her. How did that make sense? He shook his head to clear his mind. He would say it was all a joke. He was sure that once he saw Evans this morning, he would be able to prove to himself that he didn't really like her, that jet lag had made him completely unaware of his principles.

He got out of bed, showered, and threw on some clothes. His new room was quite comfortable, the mattress almost impossibly more comfortable than those in the dorms. With a wave of his wand, his things put themselves away and he left to go down to breakfast. He saw Evans' door open and her asleep in bed, fully clothed. He supposed she had gotten up and fell asleep when she relaxed for a moment. He glanced at his watch. He barely had enough time to get down to the Great Hall and get his schedule. So he did the polite thing despite his loathing of Evans and went to wake the girl up.

"Evans," he said, shaking her lightly. She groaned. "Evans," he repeated, more firmly. "_EVANS. You're going to be late. Get UP_." Lily groaned again, her eyes fluttering open. Once she blinked the sleep from her eyes she could make the figure standing over her out as James Potter. She did what anyone would do if they woke up and some tall person was standing over them. She screamed.

"WHAT THE HELL, POTTER!!" She sat up with a very large, deep-set scowl on her face. "Why are you in my room? I'll give you due respect as Head Boy, but coming into my room is too much! Get OUT!"

"Calm down, Evans. I just got up. When I left, I saw you asleep. I figured the proper thing to do would be to wake you up so you wouldn't be late." Lily took a deep breath. "Oh god. Don't scream again," James said frantically. He was sure that the whole school could hear her.

"Thank you, Potter. I'm sorry for yelling. Let's get downstairs to breakfast before we're late for class."

"Wait. You're not yelling?" James followed her out of her room and down the short flight of stairs to the 'living room' of the Head Tower.

"No, Potter, I'm not yelling."

"But why not? You always yell at me."

"And you always yell at me. Well, except for last night. But now we are Head Boy and Girl. We are partners, of sorts. We owe each other respect."

"That's an awfully big change for you, isn't it?"

"Not as big as your change from a scowling, detested boy to a swooning, elated boy over the course of five minutes yesterday."

"Yeah… sorry about that. I guess I was out of it from the jet lag."

"You were definitely out of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You called me _Lilyflower_, Potter. That's as far from normal for you as it can get." By that time, the two had arrived at the Great Hall.

"I did?" Wow, I really _was_ out of it."

"Yes, I know. Now what are your ideas for the big event this year?"

"I honestly have no idea. Dances are too common in my opinion."

"I agree. I thought we could put on a play. Black suggested Romeo and Juliet, though there are plenty of others…"

"That sounds fine. As long as I don't have to be in it."

"No, but we'll have to supervise the meetings."

"What a waste of time…" Lily looked at James.

"It won't be that bad… and besides, it might not be Romeo and Juliet. We'll have to take a vote of everyone who's interested in acting in it."

"Whatever." James and Lily hadn't noticed the strange looks they were getting from everyone until they sat down with their respective groups of friends.

"What?" Lily asked. Her friends just smirked. Melissa had a particularly evil gleam in her eyes.

"_You_ walked in with James Potter."

"Without being in the middle of an argument," Tracy added. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I am Head Girl and he is Head Boy. We are going to be working together this year. So we must treat each other civilly to get the job done." Melissa still smirked, though her other friends seemed satisfied. Lily ignored Melissa and started to eat.

Meanwhile, James had sat down to looks of utter astonishment from his friends. He dished food onto his plate and, when he looked up, saw the Marauders staring at him.

"What?"

"What's with you, Prongs?" Remus asked.

"Nothing."

"Don't tell us it's nothing. You slobbered all over Evans last night and you're being nice to her this morning," Sirius said. James shrugged.

"We've got to work together this year."

"That doesn't mean you have to fall in love with her."

"Look, Padfoot. I was tired and out of it yesterday. Leave it alone." Sirius took one long look at James before sighing and returning to his own breakfast. He would occasionally take peeks up at James through his long black hair, as if he were keeping an eye on him. James failed to notice, as his mind was on what spending the year with a civilized Lily Evans would be like. He wondered if she would be able to keep her promise of respect and cooperation. He wondered if he could do the same… His thoughts were cut off as all talk stopped. Lily Evans was standing on top of the table, all eyes on her. James took one look at her confident stance and flashing green eyes and any contemptuous thoughts disappeared. She was a woman in charge and he would have to accept that this year.

"Excuse me, everyone. My apologies, Professor, for disrupting breakfast." She looked over at Dumbledore and waited for a nod of approval before returning to her speech. "As you know, as Head Girl, I must help organize this year's big event with the help of the Head Boy." James nodded and stood when Lily looked at him. He took his place atop the table with her.

"We've decided to put on a play. Anyone interested in acting should come to the meeting after dinner…Thursday night." Lily nodded in agreement.

"Also, those of you interested in stage and tech crew are more than welcome. We'll take a vote to see which play we'll produce and figure out when casting will start."

"Thank you for your attention and sorry again, Headmaster." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled in amusement as the two stepped down and returned to their meals. James Potter and Lily Evans had gotten their act together and formed an appropriate façade sooner than he thought possible. Maybe things would work out after all.

**So? What d'ya think? Please review and I hope to get the next chapter up soon! :D**


	4. Troubling Decisions

**Sorry, sorry, sorry for not updating sooner. But I've been kind of busy. Fortunately, this chapter is a bit longer than usual, so everything's all good, right?**

Thursday morning at breakfast, people were abuzz with excitement over the meeting for the play that night. Remus smiled when he entered, shaking his head. How easily the prospect of something new stirred spirit into the student body. He sat down and filled his plate, the quietest person in the Great Hall and possibly the only one eating.

The Marauders, Lily, Tracy, and Melissa arrived in the Great Hall a half hour before the meeting.

"So what play do all of you want to do?" Lily asked.

"I like A Midsummer's Night Dream," Tracy said. Peter started nodding emphatically. Melissa scoffed.

"Romeo and Juliet is a _classic_."

"Yes, but everyone dies at the end. It's nearly as tragic as Hamlet."

"Everyone does not die. Only some of them do. And dramas are popular."

"Ladies, Ladies! We're not the only ones voting. And while I would like to put on Romeo and Juliet as well, I see no point in fighting over it when only a small part of those interested in a play is involved." Tracy ignored Black and went over to talk to Remus, who had looked on with astonishment. Sirius Black mediating a fight was unheard of. And a fight between two girls was even more surprising. He was the kind of guy to egg them on until the argument escalated into rolling around on the floor and scratching each other's eyes out. Melissa listened in awe.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," she murmured when he had finished.

"I'm not mad at you; I just don't want two good friends to argue over something so trivial." He placed a comforting hand on Melissa's shoulder and Lily raised an eyebrow, curious of Black's sudden change in personality.

"What the bloody hell, Padfoot. Since when are _you_ so sensitive?" Sirius cracked a grin.

"You believed it?" He laughed. "I was just practicing my acting. I'm thinking Mercutio, how 'bout you guys?" Everyone stared aghast at him except Lily, who snorted.

"You're certainly outrageous enough for the part."

"I'll take _that_ as a compliment, fair Juliet."

"Juliet? I'm not acting in the play, Sirius. My job is to supervise."

"So you agree to do Romeo and Juliet?"

"That's not what I said…"

"I know. Just kidding. But I think you'll find everyone else quite eager for that play as opposed to any of the others you'll mention."

"We'll see, won't we?" After a few minutes of discussion, a fair portion of the school had entered and was waiting for the meeting to begin. James and Lily took their place at the front of the Great Hall and everyone immediately stopped talking.

"Why doesn't everyone move closer?" Lily suggested. People scooted down the lengthy benches until they could all see the Heads easily and clearly.

"Excellent. Po- _James_ and I have agreed upon three of Shakespeare's plays that you can choose from that you would like to preset. Considering that we only have a few scripts of various plays on hand, we've decided that the best would be Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and the other two are comedies. We've prepared summaries for each, so you can read over these handouts so you can 

make an educated decision." James distributed the pieces of parchment to the mass of students before them.

"Unfortunately, there aren't enough for everyone," James remarked, "so if you'll share with someone nearby, that will make everything much easier." There was an abundance of murmuring and discussion before Lily called everyone to order a few minutes later when she noticed that even Peter had finished reading.

"Okay. Now that we all know what the plays are about, let's take a vote. All those for Much Ado?" Lily quickly counted: 16.

"Aaaand…. Midsummer's Night?" James asked next. Again, Lily tallied hurriedly: 24 "Last but not least, Romeo and Juliet?" Lily stopped halfway through her counting.

"Well, there're obviously more than 24 votes, so I suppose it's decided that we'll be presenting Romeo and Juliet," she said, unpleased that the majority of the students present hadn't chosen her choice. Although, she thought, it would still be interesting to observe and be a part of the making of a play, even if it wasn't her favorite. Cheers spread through the crowd, and those who voted for the others smiled a bit, as well.

"So we have a quick bit of information on each character so you can predetermine who you would like to try out for." Lily magicked a chalkboard and set a piece of chalk to jotting out each main and supporting character and their part. She would leave the roles of the various servants and musicians for those who were- to put it nicely- had slightly less talent than others. And for those people, they would have short musical auditions to get people who were talented in other areas of entertainment.

The students read each part as it was completed, talking amongst themselves and discussing who would be best for which part. When it had seemed that people were more talking than reading, Lily brought them back to the meeting once more.

"Auditions will be next Thursday at the same time as today's meeting. You can read any passage you would like for your character, but please keep it at least 15 lines and under 30. Since the library doesn't have more than two or three scripts for this play, we've placed a charm on your handouts. Just write the character's name and a preview of each of their monologues will appear. Thank you all for coming and good luck." James listened to Lily, thinking that she was very much in charge and was handling this situation well. Then again, she had always had a good grip on things when it didn't involve him. Maybe he would take a look at one of those scripts...

"Oh, hey, Moony. Whatcha doing here?" James asked when he ran into Remus at the library… in the Shakespeare section.

"Just looking to see if they have any scripts left."

"Why don't you just use the charm on the handout from the meeting?"

"I could, if I was just doing the audition, but I kind of want to read the whole play. Why are you here?"

"I suppose for the same reason. I figured I'd be able to help supervise better if I actually knew what we were working with."

"Did I hear you right? You're actually willing to work with Lily and make things easier for her?"

"Well, since we're heads, we can't exactly be fighting all the time. What respect would we get then?" Remus thought that over. It did make sense, but coming from James, it was definitely unusual. He shrugged it off and continued scanning the shelves.

"Here we are… two copies of Romeo and Juliet." Remus reached up and brought them down, handing one over to James.

"Thanks." The boys walked over to the librarian's desk to check them out. They left for the boys' dorm, which would be slightly quieter than the common room, although still filled with mutterings of Shakespearean verse.

"Potter!" James turned at the sound of Lily's voice behind him.

"Evans."

"What are we going to do about the director? Or stage crew? Or lighting, or getting the students to project their voice or-" James closed his copy of the play and stood from his place on the couch.

"Evans, calm down. One step at a time, okay? What ideas do you have for choosing a director?" He walked her to the couch and sat down next to her.

"Well… we can't just pick someone, because that would be biased and unfair, so, so… I just don't know."

"Just take a deep breath. We need to handle this like regular auditions."

"But they're directing, not acting…"

"How about anyone who wants to be the director helps with casting? We'll see how each of them decides who is best for each part. Whoever's reasoning is the most logical, they'll be the director. And anyone who's got reasoning similar to that, they can be assistant director. That 

way, they can take over if the director's sick or has other obligations." Lily listened and nodded when he had finished.

"That's a good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that…"

"You've got a lot of things on your mind, judging by your attitude when you walked in." Lily nodded.

"Yeah… but what about all this other stuff?? I don't know why I decided to do a play! It's so stressful, and I've got so much homework, and we've NEWTS this year-" Lily started freaking out, almost to the point of hyperventilating.

"Evans? Evans. _Evans_." Lily seemed oblivious to James' attempt at getting her attention.

"Oh my gosh, I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't-"

"Lily!" She stopped and looked at James, wide eyed. He had taken hold of her shoulders to keep her from rocking back and forth. He tentatively let go, ready to stop her if she started up again.

"…Sorry," she said sheepishly, looking down.

"Don't be. Everyone gets stressed sometimes. Let's see if we can sort out the rest of this stuff." Lily nodded and resumed a calmer appearance while they discussed the other subjects that needed solutions. James Potter would probably never let her forget that she had lost her cool, she thought.

**So, am I forgiven? Sorry for that odd-ish ending. I had trouble coming up with something, so Lily's a little out of character. But not for long! Hehehe… Hope you liked it, and please review!**


	5. Building Up and Falling Down

**Sorry again that it's been so long, but I had to find my muse! :) Enjoy.**

Before the meeting, James and Lily had rearranged the Great Hall. One table was placed in the front with a bench to serve as a step up to the "stage". The other tables were pushed to the back, the rest of the benches lined up in front of the stage for those waiting for their turn. Lily brought the noise level down by saying, "Okay, everyone. First off, we'll do auditions for Tybalt. Who's up?" A line of students formed at the front on the room and the rest took their seats. James, Lily, and those interested in directing sat in the front.

"My name's Malcolm and I'll be reading when he's talking to Lord Capulet at the party," the first boy to get there said. Lily nodded to James, who flipped through his borrowed script to find the section mentioned. The rest of the auditions went in much the same way, with the director candidates taking notes on the performances.

"Well, thank you all for coming. We'll discuss your performances and post the date and names for the final auditions." The students left, leaving Lily, James, and the directors in the Great Hall. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Melissa, and Tracy let the Heads know they'd be waiting.

"So what did you guys think of the first person who tried out- Malcolm?"

"He didn't sound angry enough," one girl offered.

"I thought he sucked," said a boy.

"I think we all agree that he is not a candidate for Tybalt or any role. His idea of acting seems to be reading the lines off the page. I couldn't detect any emotion whatsoever." This came from Severus Snape. Lily quirked an eyebrow momentarily before she realized her actions. She disguised her thoughts with a look of polite attention from then on. She scribbled a note on her parchment and went onto the next audition.

"So who do you think is the best person for the job?" Lily asked James when they had been through every audition and the candidates had left.

"Definitely not that kid who said everyone was horrible."

"I didn't consider him for a minute."

"Yeah…I hate to say it, but Snape actually sounded the most reasonable."

"He was a good judge of the various people's skills, too."

"Although the girl who was interested had helpful additions as well…"

"So Snape's director and Hannah will be assisting director?"

"If you're okay with that…"

"I think that's perfect."

"So who'll be called back for final auditions?"

"Well, I wrote down what everyone thought, so I guess we could just tally up the scores and decide that way…" Lily answered.

"Sure. How about the two people with the highest for each role come back?"

"That sounds good. So I'll add everything up and let you know before I post it."

"Okay." James agreed. Lily wrote one more thing down and stood.

"See you later."

"Yep." James followed her out of the Great Hall.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lily turned and waved her wand. The tables and benches arranged themselves in the proper places. James was impressed at her talent. But only vaguely, he told himself. The two left and joined the group of friends.

"A first year came by asking for you. He said Dumbledore wanted to talk to you." Remus said.

"We told him you two were busy and he gave us this to give to you." Tracy added, handing over a scroll. Lily took it and unrolled it.

Miss Evans and Mr. Potter,  
I would like to speak to you about your actions as Heads.

Please see me after dinner tonight in my office.

-Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster

P.S. I find Chocolate Cauldrons quite enjoyable

James rolled his eyes. "The man is daft." Lily looked at him.

"Don't be so disrespectful. Yes, he's a bit eccentric, but he's done great things and deserves respect. I'll meet you outside his office after supper. I should have the numbers tallied by then. Lily walked away with Tracy and Melissa as James stood there, befuddled. Sirius smirked as the girls left, thinking of how independent and assertive Evans was. He was also surprised to notice that he didn't find her as annoying as last year when she and James had done nothing but fight. Funny how your friends' opinions can sway you…

"Hey, Evans," James said when he saw her outside of Dumbledore's office.

"Where were you, Potter? Dinner was over at seven thirty. And I know you were finished eating long before then," Lily informed him, looking away.

"You were watching me?"

"No, I just couldn't miss your never ending screaming and shouting and carrying on. No one could." Lily still wouldn't look at him.

"…Oh," James said, slightly abashed. "What do you think he wants to talk to us about?" Lily shrugged.

"If you don't know and you're Head Boy, how would I, as Head Girl, know?"

"I was only asking. You don't need to be so defensive and mean. Why are you upset anyway?" Lily sighed and turned to face him.

"I don't know… I'm just stressed, I guess."

"Well, you were stressed before and you handled it differently around me before." James said, indignant at her maltreatment of him.

"I know… I'm sorry." She sounded sincere, and James softened.

"It's fine. I understand." Lily looked up him.

"Psh. The magnificent James Potter, Marauder, stressed? I thought the _Marauders_ always had everything under control. Nice try, Potter." James stopped and stared at Evans. That was the second time in a day that she had told him off. Not altogether unusual considering they used to hate each other (and Evans probably still did hate him), but he found himself greatly offended and somewhat hurt.

"Just because we don't act like it doesn't mean we don't have problems," he said quietly. Lily considered him for a moment and turned to the statue without a word to him.

"Chocolate Cauldrons is the password," James offered. "You left the Entrance Hall without taking the letter back." Lily still ignored him, but James noticed a slight turning of her head. And possibly the tiniest of nods. Then again, he had blinked just then, so he would never know. The staircase leading to his office appeared and the two headed up to knock on the door.

"Come in, children," the Headmaster's voice said. James opened the door and allowed Lily to step in before him. She did so, paying him no heed.

"Good evening, Professor," Lily said politely.

"Good evening to you too. And you, Mr. Potter. Please sit." Two armchairs were conveniently waiting. The two Heads seated themselves and turned their complete attention to the Headmaster.

"Well, I was going to congratulate you two for putting your differences aside to come up with a new and refreshing school event, but since the tension between you two could be cut with a knife, I suppose it's my duty to intervene and ask why you are having problems."

"Please, Professor. Our views on some matters differ. It won't affect the outcome of the play."

"I don't quite agree with that, for your attitude affects the attitude of others at all times. But I'm sure you will be able to work things out, considering your cooperation earlier this week when you announced your plans."

"Yes, Professor. We'll sort things out."

"I am glad to hear it. Now that that's sorted out, what are your plans for this production?"

"We're doing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," James informed him.

"Ah, a classic. And have you decided who will play what role?"

"Well, as I'm sure you heard, we've completed the preliminary auditions and we'll have callbacks later this week."

"Good to hear it. And to inform you, Professor Kunestin rather has a knack with drawing and painting. You might ask her to assist you and the stage crew with the set production."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You are welcome, Miss Evans. You may go now. I am glad to hear that things are running smoothly. An excellent job." Lily rose, smiling in acknowledgement of his compliment. 

James stood too, and followed Lily out with a nod and a rueful smile for the Headmaster. Dumbledore smiled knowingly at him, returning the nod.

**Well, your thoughts? Any screaming at me for updating so much later than usual? Well, whatever your reason, reviews are greatfully taken. But if you do have criticism, make it constructive, not destructive or harmful. :)**


	6. Making Up

**I know what you're thinking: Whoo hoo! A new chapter! Or maybe, you're just flabbergasted that after updating so slowly lately how I've got two chapters up in one day… Whatever it is you're thinking, I hope you'll stop and focus on the story! :)**

"Lily," James said in the hallway after they had left the Headmaster's office. She sighed and turned, raising her eyebrows.

"What is it?"

"Did you come up with the candidates for final auditions?" She blushed, obviously having forgotten. She pulled a roll of parchment from her bag and handed it to him.

"Here" She turned and started walking away.

"That wasn't the only thing I wanted to talk about," He called after her. Lily turned.

"What, Potter?"

"I don't know why you're angry with me. I already apologized."

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm being so cool with you."

"Do you need to talk about something? More stress relief?" Lily smiled.

"I think I can handle it."

"Well, then perhaps something to take your mind off of it? Do you want to discuss things with the play?"

"Thanks, but no thanks, Potter. I'll be fine. See you tomorrow."

"See you." She started to walk off again before James remembered something.

"Lily?" She turned for what seemed the hundredth time that day.

"What is it now, Potter?"

"When are we going to talk to Snivellus about the auditions and the directing and everything?"

"Don't call him Snivellus, James. And maybe we'll talk to him and Hannah tomorrow. I certainly don't want to deal with Severus' attitude tonight." She waved and continued on her way.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me about what's bothering you?"

"Yes, James, I'm sure. I've got something better to let everything go with. No offense."

"None taken, considering you hated me for the past six years." Lily smiled.

"You hated me, too, remember?"

"Oh… right. Now I remember the animosity," he said jokingly. She smiled again and waved, half expecting him to call her back. He almost did, for questions still swam to the front of his mind. Since when had Lily Evans become so complex and interesting to him? He shrugged, heading to Gryffindor Tower to spend some time with Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

The next day a swarm of students crowded around the bulletin board in the Gryffindor common room. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws did the same in their respective common rooms.

Final Romeo and Juliet Auditions

Next Wednesday, 7:45, Great Hall

The following people are to report:

Sirius, Remus, Tracy, and Melissa were all on the list. When they found out, they reacted in a variety of ways. Sirius gave a smug smile and swaggered down to breakfast, Remus shrugged and followed him, and Melissa squealed in excitement and practically skipped through the halls down to the Great Hall. Tracy gave a shy, satisfied smile and walked to the Head Tower to greet Lily.

"Oh, hey Tracy. What's up?"

"Did you hear about the list? Oh wait, you're Head Girl. Of course you know."

"What list?"

"I guess you don't…"

"Tracy, what list?"

"There's a list of all the people who got called back for final auditions in the common room. There's probably one in every other common room, since there's people from every House on the list…"

"James…" Lily said to herself.

"What?" Tracy asked.

"It's nothing. Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Sure." They started walking down.

"So did Black do his arrogant swaggering thing?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Like after every Quidditch match," Tracy replied. Lily set her bag down on the bench, saving herself a seat.

"I'll be right back," she told her friends. She walked down the table to where the Marauders sat.

"James, can I talk to you for a minute?" He looked up at her and swallowed his food.

"Yeah, sure." He stood and followed her out of the Great Hall. Even though everyone was excited about the callbacks, they still had enough curiosity to wonder why James and Lily were leaving in the middle of breakfast together.

"What's the problem?" James asked.

"Did you make those lists?"

"Yeah, I figured I should help more. Also, your list incorporated everyone's thoughts, so Snape and Hannah can't really complain all that much. They do get choice over the remaining candidates, so everyone's happy, right?"

"I guess. But I still think we should have spoken with Severus first…"

"Lily, it'll be fine."

"I know. I guess I'm just being a worrywart, huh?"

"Only a little." She laughed.

"So do you want to talk to Severus after lunch? He and Hannah should at least be forewarned, I think."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Okay, well enjoy the rest of your breakfast."

"…Sure." James turned to leave.

"Oh, and Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't boss the house elves around. You could always ask a Prefect to hang the notice up instead."

"Who said anything about house elves," James said with a grin.

"How-?" James quirked and eyebrow.

"Never mind. I don't want to know," Lily said, waving it away. James smiled again and went back into the Great Hall.

"See you, Evans." Lily rolled her eyes and reentered the Great Hall, following suit.

"What was that about?" Melissa asked slyly when Lily returned to her seat.

"Oh, Potter just did me a favor, that's all." Melissa gave a look to Tracy and Lily raised an eyebrow. "What's the big deal? We're colleagues."

"Mmhmm," Melissa said. Lily glared, and started to eat.

After Charms class with Professor Kunestin, James and Lily went up to her to ask her for her help. She gladly agreed, for apparently there was nothing she loved more than painting. And did you know she'd spent quite some time in Italy, fascinated by the architecture and Sistine Chapel? They left with a thank you and a smile at her excitement.

"Okay, well, it's time for lunch. Don't forget that we've got to talk to Severus afterwards, all right?"

"I won't forget, Lily."

"Well, who knows? You get out of hand when you're with the other Marauders."

"I bet you get just as 'out of hand' with your friends at times. So what if I loosen up easier than you?"

"You're right. But still, _try_ to remember. We've got to get to him before he leaves the Great Hall, otherwise he'll practically disappear."

"You know an awful lot about his tendencies, don't you Evans?"

"We did used to be friends you know…"

"Yeah, before he lost any and all respect for you."

"That's beside the point. He has ways of disappearing and making sure he doesn't get found."

"All right. I won't forget and I'll try to get to him before he leaves. Happy?"

"Yes. But what'll we do if we lose him?"

"Well, I'd say we'd have to wait until supper, but I've got my ways of finding people." He grinned and changed his path, now headed towards the common room.

"Again, I don't want to know," Lily called after him. She heard him laugh and watched him walk away before shaking her head at him as much as to bring herself back to what she was doing. She headed down to the Great Hall, friends, and food.

**Well? How was it? What are your thoughts? Hmm?? I can't hear you, speak up! Well, technically I won't hear you at all, even if you review. I'll be seeing your thoughts. And that's actually a pretty strange way of saying that… Well, hope you liked it and I'll try to update soon. :D**


	7. Preparing for the Long Term

**Ready for the next chapter? I hope so, even though there weren't really too many reviews… Either way, enjoy! And sorry about the confusion with Chapter 5, I was stupid and selected the wrong document on my computer. But it's all fixed now, and that should help with any confusion anyone had.**

"So how are things going with _James_," Melissa asked. Lily raised an eyebrow and shrugged, sitting down to fill her plate.

"Oh come _on_, Tracy told me _he_ made those lists, not you. How considerate of him."

"As Head Boy, he shares the work load." Lily looked sharply at Melissa.

"Fine. But I'll wager that you start to think differently about his actions." Lily gave her another look before returning to her lunch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James stand up and walk down the table towards her. Lily quirked an eyebrow. She thought they had agreed he would follow Snape out of the Great Hall and wait for her to catch up. A discussion beforehand had never been part of the plan… Before she could ponder his approach, he laid one hand on the table and put his body between her and Tracy, who was sitting next to her. He leant forward to whisper in her ear.

"He's getting ready to leave. Should we wait outside for him together? I think that'll be easier. And show him that we mean business." Lily went rigid at their closeness, but as she listened, she loosened up enough to nod slightly in agreement. She stood and walked out with him, sticking her tongue out at Melissa along the way in response to a sly grin. James noticed this exchange and smiled.

"What was that about?"

Melissa's just reading things into our working together."

"What kinds of things is she reading into it?"

"Oh, that I might be falling for you. Completely ridiculous, really." Lily laughed at the thought and James' face fell marginally before he covered it up nonchalantly like a true Marauder.

"Yeah… ridiculous." Lily gave him an odd look before passing it off as nothing. She focused on the task at hand: getting Severus Snape's complete cooperation as director of _Romeo and Juliet_. However, when they were in the Entrance Hall, Lily noticed she had not seen any signs of Snape readying to leave.

"Potter, why did you _really_ change the plans?" James was taken aback.

"I told you. I thought it would be easier."

"What was hard about you keeping him out here before I got there?"

"Nothing, I just thought we should show that we _are_ a team." Lily faltered.

"A team? How are we not a team? We're the Heads."

"Yes, we're the Heads, but we need to show some amount of organization. You arriving after me wouldn't seem very organized. And my keeping him here would make him both suspicious and disagreeable."

"Well, I suppose you have a point… But why didn't you share your thoughts before when we planned it?"

"I don't know. I guess-" At that moment, Snape pushed open the doors and tried to slink away as he most likely usually did.

"Severus, we'd like to talk to you." He stopped in his tracks at Lily's words and turned, stringy hair shadowing his face.

"Po- James and I have decided that we'd like you to be the director of the play." She thought she saw a glimpse of interest pass his face.

"Why?"

"Because you make good decisions and you back it up with good examples," Lily started.

"And that'll make the play all the better," James added.

"I suppose I could… assist you, Lily."

"Thank you so much, Severus. Only… are you all right with having Hannah Moreau as assistant director?"

"We'll see. I'll have to work with her. I can say that she does seem to have a good head on her shoulders."

"Great. Did you see the list for callback auditions?"

"Yes. And I agree for the most part on your decisions. We'll see who's up for the challenge."

"All right. We'll see you on Thursday, then?" Snape nodded and slunk away as was his tendency. Lily noticed James relax a little and turned to him.

"I'm proud of you, Potter."

"For what?"

"For not raising your voice or lunging at him once. Good job."

"Thank you, _Mother_." He smiled a little, to take away the sting of the comment.

"You know I'm right. You've had trouble controlling your erratic temper."

"Erratic? Snape's just a jerk."

"Yes, and so are you at times." Lily smiled a tad evilly and turned to leave for the library. She had enough time to choose a book and make it in time to her next class.

"D'you want me to catch Hannah and tell her, then?" James asked. Lily stopped and looked back.

"Only if you want to. Just be careful telling her who she's working with. We don't want to lose her help."

"Right… maybe I'll just let it go for now." Lily shrugged.

"It's up to you. See you in class, Potter."

"Bye, Lily." She rolled her eyes and continued on her way.

"Hello Severus. How are you?" Lily greeted Snape cheerfully even though it pained her. He answered with a shrug. She stopped and turned to dig a piece of parchment and a quill out of her bag. She set that down on the bench beside her and pulled out her wand. With a flick of it, the Great Hall was ready for the final auditions- the most critical part of putting on the play. If the wrong people were chosen, the play wouldn't go well. The doors opened and she turned to see James talking to Hannah.

"Hello Hannah."

"Hi, Lily."

"Did James tell you the good news?"

"Yes. And I am so happy. Even if it's not director, assistant's not that bad. And I have faith in your decisions."

"Oh, thank you, but it was obvious that Severus would make a good director. Would you like to go talk to him?"

"Umm… Sure." Hannah walked over to Snape somewhat hesitantly, but did not otherwise appear outwardly repulsed. Which was a good sign. She at least would not let personal views get in the way. Lily turned to James.

"I'm glad we picked her," she said.

"Me too," He agreed, looking around. "Sorry I couldn't be here to help set up."

"It's no problem. I'm good at Charms."

"I've noticed."

"You are, too. And apparently not just at the magical ones."

"Excuse me?"

"How else would you be able to get Hannah to be so open and welcoming towards him?"

"Oh, that… I think she's usually pretty open regardless."

"Maybe, but probably not _that_ open. And you thought you wouldn't be able to do it."

"I didn't, but I'm glad that I was."

"Yeah…" The doors opened and a flood of people who had been called back poured in.

"Well then, let's get to it." Lily turned to greet everyone. "Hello. Glad to see you all here. If you'll all take a seat we can get things going." The students did so, and Lily and James took the places on the stage to address the crowd.

"Okay. Today's auditions are mainly to see how you work with other people so the play seems realistic. First we'll pair up those of you trying out for Mercutio and Tybalt. First up are Sirius Black and John Avery. The two boys stood, scowling at each other. The Heads stepped off the stage, freeing it for the two candidates. Lily looked towards Snape for him to take the reins.

"Get a script, both of you. Page 104. Read the role opposite the one you want. We'll see your true acting abilities." They did so and Lily had to admit that she was surprised at Sirius' skill. The auditions continued, leaving Romeo and Juliet auditions last.

"Natalie Chang and Gerard Neilson," Lily called, reading off her list. The two stood up and got to the stage, each taking a script.

"Page 89. And this time you don't have to switch roles. Even though the script says to kiss, _don't_." Snape was gruff as ever as he issued this order.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this-" Gerard began.

"Stop, stop. This is an audition. You're supposed to show you can act. You are far too rigid. Deliver your lines with passion and feeling."

"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready-" he continued.

"You just don't get it, do you? Step back. Who shall we get up there next? It's got to be someone not on the list for Romeo. We can't have uneven numbers." James raised his hand.

"I'll try it." Snape scowled for a bit before giving in.

"All right, get up there. Neilson, pay attention." James was quickly on stage and had taken the script from Gerard. He hardly needed it, though, as he delivered his lines far better than any candidate that day.

"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion-" Natalie started shakily.

"Stop," Snape nearly groaned. "Again, it's an audition. Don't let feelings get to you, just say the lines if you were Juliet. Try again."

"Which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that-" Natalie's voice persisted in shaking, despite her performance during the solo auditions.

"All right then, you take a step back, too. Ms. Evans? Would you be so kind?"

"I suppose so." Lily got out of her chair and went up on stage, retrieving the script from Natalie's trembling hands. She smiled encouragingly before getting into character. She glanced at the script and looked up at James, delivering her first line.

**Oh yes, I'm so terribly evil. What will happen next? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter. Fortunately, It's already in progress. Unfortunately, I'm getting ready to go on vacation, so I might or might not be able to get it up before I leave. If I can't, I apologize in advance. :)**


	8. Final Decisions

**Well, I know I've made some of you happy in updating before I go on vacation, and hopefully I made the rest of you happy too. Hope you like it!**

"For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." She pressed her hand without hesitation to James' as the script implied. Her lines were full of emotion as well, despite the fact that she was performing with James.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" James queried, voice full of the hope that his character surely felt.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer," Lily said, putting him down, slightly out of character, but it worked.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Lily blushed slightly, but continued on boldly.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took."

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."

"You kiss by the book," Lily said, slightly taunting, still in excellent portrayal of character. Snape started clapping slowly, with a wry smile on his face. He stood and turned to the assembled students.

"Should we even bother with the rest of the pairings?" He asked sarcastically, daring someone to say yes. A few people shook their heads in answer, but mostly people clapped in appreciation for the two.

"I thought so," Lily heard Snape say quietly to himself. She blushed a bit more, but she was still smiling. She cast a shy look up at James before stepping off the stage to meet Tracy and Melissa.

"That was brilliant, Lily!" Melissa congratulated her

"Wonderful job, Lil!" Tracy added.

"Thanks guys, I really didn't think it was that good…"

"Oh, stop that, you were amazing!" Melissa chided.

"I didn't know you could act, Evans." Sirius said impishly.

"Neither did I, Black."

"Genius, Lily. Really genius."

"Thanks Remus. But really, I didn't think it was all that good."

"Nice work, Evans, and don't think differently for a moment," James said, coming over.

"Thanks," She blushed. "Shall we end the meeting?"

"Sure." The two stood on stage, signaling for quiet.

"Okay, well, thank you all for coming. Those of you who got the part, the cast list will be posted by the end of tomorrow. Thank you all for coming."

"May I?" Snape asked, putting one foot on the bench before the stage, getting ready to climb up.

"Yes, of course."

"Those of you who did not get a chance to try out for the leads, I apologize, but it's my belief that these two make the best match for the characters. All of you will certainly be granted speaking roles. And as Miss Evans said, thank you all for coming. And sorry once again." He nodded politely at Lily and stepped down to pack his papers in his bag.

"Severus, what are your thoughts about casting?"

"Well obviously you and Potter'll play the leads… Other than that, I'm not sure."

"Can I see your notes?" He nodded and pulled out the list of names and his sheets of notes. "Thanks," Lily said. "Hannah?"

"Yes?" She said eagerly."

"Did you take notes as well?"

"Oh, of course. Here you go. Nice job, by the way." Lily gave a little smile.

"Thanks for the notes."

"You're welcome!" Hannah followed Snape out of the Great Hall, leaving only Lily and James.

"You really did do a good job with the role," he said.

"Oh, no one will let me forget it, will they?" Lily said, blushing.

"Well, no, since you're now Juliet."

"Yes, and the fact that you're Romeo makes everything so much more exciting, doesn't it?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well, I'm sure if you ask the student body…" She rolled her eyes and put the parchment she had received in her bag along with her own notes.

"I'll see you in the common room later tonight, Potter. We'll write up the lists then."

"All right." He reached for his bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He glanced at his watch, it was past curfew. Where would she be going? "Wait, Lily."

"What is it?"

"It's past curfew. We should just walk up to the Tower together and do it before bed, shouldn't we?"

"I suppose that makes sense…" So the two left together and went up to the Head Tower to write up the cast list.

"So Remus and Melissa are Lord and Lady Montague, Romeo's parents, Sirius is Mercutio, Romeo's best friend- how fitting," Lily said. James smiled.

"Tracy's the nurse, and Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewett are Lord and Lady Capulet, Juliet's parents." Lily nodded.

"Snape wrote down next to the names which supporting roles he feels they'd be best suited for. Should we just cast those people for the roles?"

"That makes sense. So what's it say?"

"He suggests Kevin Branstone, one of Hufflepuff's chasers, as Peter, the nurse's servant."

"All right." James scribbled down the name and the role. "Anyone else?"

"He's got notes for others, but shouldn't we assign parts to the people who didn't get to try out?"

"Can't they just be servants? And isn't there a minstrel?"

"Yes, I suppose that works. Oh, we completely forgot about Tybalt, Benvolio, and the Prince. Oh, and Balthasar, and the Friar…"

"Lily, calm down. What did Snape say?"

"Robert Ackerly for Tybalt."

"He is kind of irritable, isn't he?" Lily smiled.

"A bit. Amos Diggory for Prince Escalus."

"He does try to keep the peace, doesn't he?"

"Perhaps a bit too much at times," Lily agreed. "And Lewis MacMillan as Benvolio."

"Again, fitting. How about Balthasar?"

"Umm, he doesn't have anyone listed."

"Then let's give that role to one of the hopeful Romeos."

"All right. Do you remember the better of the two on the list?" Lily asked. James took a look and nodded. The next half hour or so went on in much the same manner, with the two sorting out the people who would get which part. They saved the much smaller roles to be decided by Snape at the next meeting.

"So we'll get someone to hang them up in each common room tomorrow?" Lily said when the final drafts had been written.

"I can do it, it's no trouble. Unfortunately it means waking up early like last time."

"Do I want to know how you can get into the common rooms?"

"Probably not." He grinned. Lily smiled back and stood.

"Well, that's that then, isn't it?"

"Yes, but Lily?"

"Yes, James?" She mentally kicked herself for letting his first name pop out in place of Potter. He smiled a little before becoming serious.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Lily nearly gaped, but she controlled herself enough to appear dignified.

"Oh, James," she almost grimaced when she let his name slip again, but she continued on. "I don't know what to say… Well, this is certainly unexpected… I-I'm sorry, I don't think I can…"

"Oh, well, all right…"

"I'm sorry, James, I really am." _I'm _also_ sorry that I keep using his name_. She thought.

"Well, good night, then."

"Good night, Ja- good night."

"See you tomorrow…Lily."

"Yes, see you." She picked up her things and almost ran to her room, closing the door quietly before turning and sliding down to the floor. Meanwhile, James had put his things into his bag except for the lists and went to post them in the various common rooms. He was on his way to Hufflepuff cellar when he ran into Hannah.

"Oh, hello, James," she smiled cheerily.

"Hannah, can I talk to you for a second?" James asked.

"Certainly."

"Thanks." James led her to a shadowy corner in the hallway and asked her the question that would put his inured self esteem at rest.

**Yes, I'm so evil. Another cliff hanger. Well, hopefully I'll find some time to work on it while I'm gone, but just in case I don't, sorry for the wait! Please review no matter how upset you are with me. :)**


	9. Interruptions

**Sorry for the wait! I'm back now, so updates should come regularly and quickly, as I've got nothing to do for the rest of the summer. Enjoy!**

The next day at breakfast, everyone knew who had what part in the play. Sirius continued to swagger, and Melissa was still ecstatic. Lily had been approached many times throughout the day by students wishing luck and congratulating her. By lunch time, she had been thoroughly embarrassed. She snuck to the kitchen for a quick lunch and retreated to the library for the rest of the break period, not caring to draw any more attention to herself.

But with so many people looking to talk to her, people noticed that she was gone anyway. With so many people asking after her, the Marauders decided to go look for her. They decided to split up.

"I'll go get the map," Sirius offered. James nodded.

"Good idea. Peter, where do you think she might be?"

"Umm, well… If she didn't come to the Great Hall for lunch, she must have, um, gone to… the kitchens?"

"Sure. Why don't you go look for her?"

"All right." Peter waddled off down the hallway.

"So, Moony, where do you think she went?"

"I'm not sure. Padfoot went to the common room, so if she's there, he'll find her…"

"But only she and I know the password to the Head Tower. Why don't I go see if she's there?"

"Okay. I'll check the library, I suppose."

"Good idea. If we don't find her, she's got to come to class, right?"

"I can't see her skiving," Remus agreed. James smiled and slapped him on the back.

"Thanks, Mate." James left, glad that he had the support of his friends. He had told them about his rejection and his conversation with Hannah, and they hadn't seemed fazed a bit. Remus nodded and headed up to the library. He found Lily sitting in the back of the library, with a copy of Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing_.

"Hey, Lily." She jumped at the sound of his voice and looked up.

"Oh, it's you, Remus." She placed a spare piece of parchment in the book to save her place, and closed it.

"Hiding from everyone?" He asked with an understanding smile.

"How do you know? You don't usually have that much attention on you, do you?"

"Well, I _am_ a Marauder…"

"Of course."

"But that doesn't mean I like the attention. Sirius absolutely loves the limelight, but I make a point of not drawing attention to myself."

"So were you looking for me, or did you just stumble into this section of the library?"

"I was looking for you. The others are, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, not Melissa and Tracy, they were mobbed by a group of people congratulating them and asking them to congratulate you for them." Lily blushed.

"And now you see why I'm hiding. I'm sorry that they got mobbed, though."

"They can handle it. Melissa's a people person and Tracy keeps things moving."

"I suppose you're right, but I still feel bad…"

"Don't feel bad, I'm sure they understand."

"Thanks, Remus. So… where did James decide to look?"  
"Head Tower. Though I suppose he's figured out that you're not there by now, so he's probably headed off with Han… Oops."

"Hannah? The assistant director? Why would he be with her?"

"Well, I don't think he meant for you to know…"

"Is he dating her?"

"Well, not exactly…"

"Remus…" Lily said sternly.

"Fine. Yes, he is. I'm sorry Lily."

"It's not your fault. And I suppose it really doesn't matter… I did turn him down-oh!" She looked up, embarrassed yet again, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "He told you about that, too, then?" Remus nodded sympathetically.

"Sorry."

"It's really not your fault. James is just…"

"An idiot?"

"Yes." Lily said regretfully. "I suppose I really shouldn't be complaining, or jealous, or anything. I _did_ turn him down after all..." She bent down and brushed tears out of her eyes as surreptitiously as she could.

"Lily? Are you all right?" She nodded, wiping her face dry with her hands and locking her emotions away. "Are you sure?"

"_Yes_, Remus, I'm fine."

"All right. I can see you don't want to talk about it." He leaned forward to see the clock.

"Is it time for class?"

"Almost," Remus answered.

"Thanks." Lily stood and packed her things away. She brought the play over to the librarian and quickly checked it out. She and Remus left the library and headed for their next class together.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Lupin. You're late." Professor Slughorn said, slightly disappointed in his two best students.

"Sorry, Professor," Lily said just as Sirius said, "Just barely."

"It's quite all right, Miss Evans. Mr. Black is correct. You are perhaps just a little over two minutes late. I'll let you and Mr. Lupin off with a warning."

"Thank you so much, Professor," Lily said.

"Not a problem, my dear. You and Mr. Lupin can take that table in the back. As I was saying, everyone turn to page 217 in your textbooks and begin to read. When you are finished, choose one of the potions mentioned in your reading. Find the ingredients it requires and start to make that potion."

A few people grumbled, namely Sirius, Peter, and a few Slytherins. The rest of the class, however, did as they were told and started to read. Lily and Remus were the first to finish.

"So which potion do you want to make?" Remus asked.

"It doesn't really matter… the healing potion seems interesting. It says that it speeds the healing process of severe injuries from a few weeks to a few days.

"That sounds good. Let's find it in the book."

"Umm, Remus?"

"Yeah?" he said, turning to the index.

"Thanks for comforting me up in the library." James, unnoticed by the two, stiffened when he heard this.

"No problem." Lily smiled and went back to work.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Moony?!" James screamed in the Great Hall before the meeting.

"I don't know. Why are you mad at me?"

"Because you're hitting on Lily!"

"No I'm not."

"Then what were you talking about it potions today?!"

"I found her in the library and she was concerned about you asking her out and I kind of let slip the whole you-and-Hannah thing…"

"You _what_?!"

"Prongs, it was an accident, really. And you're going out with Hannah, why do you care about Lily?"

"You know why."

"I do. But why are you going out with Hannah if you like Lily?"

"Because she turned me down!"

"So you're punishing her? That's a little immature, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't get it, would you? You won't let yourself get emotionally attatched to girl because of your furry little problem!" Remus glared.

"That's not funny, James."

"It wasn't supposed to be, Remus," James explained, glaring back. Just then Lily walked in. She took one look at the boys ad instantly knew something was wrong.

"What's going on, guys?" She asked, dreading the answer.

**Sorry for the third cliffhanger in a row, but I didn't want the chapter to get too lengthy. Hope you liked it despite my cruelty. Please review!**


	10. Potential Problems?

**All right! New chapter already! Enjoy everyone!**

"What's going on, guys? Lily asked as she entered the Great Hall, ready to prevent conflict if needed.

"I'm not quite sure, ask James." Remus answered. James glared back at his best friend.

"It's nothing, Lily." He said in a hard voice. He turned away from Remus and walked to the other end of the Great Hall to cool his temper.

"Remus?"

"He was upset about something I said…"

"Oh no, this wasn't about what I said in Potions, was it?"

"…Possibly."

"Oh, this is entirely my fault…" Lily ran a hand through her hair, distressed.

"Nothing's your fault, Lily, honestly," Remus said, trying to console her.

"But you two are fighting because of me. I can't stand between you, you're best friends… Oh, what am I going to do??" She started crying, overcome by worry.

"Shh… Lily, it's all right. We can sort it all out, don't worry." He walked over to take her in his arms and comfort her. James turned and scowled, a green eyed monster climbing up his back. Lily dried her tears and opened her eyes. She saw James watching and quickly backed away from Remus.

"Thanks, Remus…again."

"No problem, Lily. You'll always have friends there for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a fight to sort out."

"Good luck. I think he might be a bit more jealous now…"

"I'm not surprised, really. Thanks, though."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's all right. Why don't you start setting up?" Lily nodded.

"Okay." She did so, a flick of her wand sending benches and tables to their proper places. Instead of the usual setup, she had all the tables against the walls and the benches arranged in a circle. Today they were going to do a read through. She tucked her wand away and looked around appreciatively. Then her gaze landed on James and Remus.

"How _could_ you?"

"James, I was just comforting her. She was upset that we were fighting. A good friend does such things."

"Well, we wouldn't be fighting if you weren't trying to take her from me!"

"All right. Stop. Number 1: I'm not trying to take her from you, she a friend. Number 2: You don't have her, she's not an object. Number 3: You're going out with Hannah, so if you like Lily, ask yourself why you're going out with someone else. Number 4: If you like Lily, why are you hurting her by flying off the handle at me?" He turned to join Lily once more, but James stopped him.

"Moony- wait…" he sighed.

"I'm sorry. Everything you just said is right. I shouldn't be getting mad at you. It's hurting all of us. I guess I've just been a git."

"Damn right you have," Remus agreed with a grin. James ginned back and said "I'm sorry" once more.

"It's all right, Mate. Let's get back to the meeting." James nodded and they walked over together, smiling. Lily smiled back before turning at the sound of the doors opening. Hannah, Sirius, Tracy, and Melissa all walked in, Snape following a minute later.

"Hey, Lils!" Melissa said. "What are we doing today?"

"I was thinking we'd do a run through, but that's up to the two directors." She looked over at Snape who nodded, but avoided looking for Hannah, knowing that she would have sat down next to James and probably taken his hand in hers.

"Hmm. Strange seeing this set up so differently," Sirius remarked.

"It'll be more surprising seeing a real stage set up with all the set pieces and props," Melissa answered. Tracy smiled and went over to talk to Lily.

"Are you all right? You look like you've been crying."

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little stress," Lily assured her with a genuine smile, fully recovered after seeing James and Remus making up.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Tracy. Thank you."

"Okay." Tracy left to go sit down with Melissa, Sirius, and Remus. Lily walked around the Great Hall, thinking about the recent problem with James and Remus while pretending to examine the architecture of the room. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice James say something to Hannah, stand, and walk over to where she was.

"Hey, Lily?" She jumped at the sound of her voice, not hearing him come over, preoccupied as she was.

"James?" He suppressed a smile at the use of his first name.

"I'm sorry about overreacting about you and Remus. I'm sorry it worried you so much… I shouldn't have lost control, I-"

"James."

"Yeah?"

"It's all right. You're forgiven. I'm just happy that it's resolved and all."

"Thank you, really. I don't know what I would do if you were unhappy or angry because of something I did."

"Thank _you_, James. That means a lot to me." The rest of the cast and those hoping for a role came in just then, interrupting their conversation. James sighed and Lily said, "Shall we get this meeting started?"

"Yeah, let's go," James agreed. Lily smiled and walked over to the circle of benches with him.

"All right every one. Please take a seat." She waited for them to do so before continuing. "We have some last minute casting to be done. We accidentally overlooked some of the key supporting characters before the lists were drawn up, so we made the decisions earlier this morning. **(a/n: they're not the only ones who overlooked some roles…)** Ludovic Bagman will play Paris and Friar Lawrence will be played by Jonathan Belby. Anyone who doesn't have a role yet, raise your hand." About twelve hands went up and Lily nodded. "We'll be a little short, but since the remaining roles are small, you can have more than one. We've got six servants, two pages, the watchman, Friar John, the Apothecary, the chorus or narrator, three musicians, and a member of the Capulet family. Any volunteers?" Half the hands that were previously up were raised again. Lily called on the first person she saw.

"Can I be Friar John?" A fourth year asked. Lily looked to James first and then Snape. They both shrugged.

"Certainly. Your name?"

"Liam Finnigan."

"Thank you. All right… you?"

"The apothecary?" Lily consulted the two boys again, getting the same answer. She took his name and continued the last minute casting in the same manner.

"Okay, is everyone ready to start the read through?" She asked when all the roles were filled. Of course, they'd need to find extras when the time came. She received a lot of nods and a "Hell yeah!" from one person who she strongly suspected went by the name of Sirius Black.

"If you could all reposition yourselves so that you're seated near those your characters interact with, we can get started."

People shuffled around obediently. The haughty Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, Ludo Bagman sat down next to Lily and daringly put his arm around her shoulders. She removed it and gave him a cautionary look. He didn't seem put off, but he _did_ make sure not to touch her for the rest of the meeting. Although, that might have something to do with the fact that James was, oh I don't know…glaring. Melissa, watching the occurrences from the other side of James, smirked at Lily. All she got in response was Lily rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Tracy, finding herself seated next to Kevin Branstone, a Hufflepuff chaser, blushed a little and lowered her eyes. Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewett sat down next to Ludo, though left plenty of space for another person in between. They exchanged a disgusted look, then smiled. Frank leaned over to whisper something in her ear and she blushed, but nodded. Jon Belby, the only 5th year with a lead role (then again, he _was_ a Ravenclaw…), graciously took the space between Ludo and Alice. Sirius looked dejected as he took a seat between James and Remus, occasionally sneaking peeks at Melissa. Lily observed all this with a smile, and a sad one when she saw Sirius, then turned to start the read through.

"All right, everyone, let's get started," she announced, hoping that people's feelings would not get in the way of the production.

**So, Whatcha think? Please review, I'll be glad to get them!**


	11. Confusion and Regret

**Whoo hoo! New chapter! Hope you like! It kind of sets up the next chapter **

"Ugh, I can't believe we have to be off book for the first two acts tomorrow!" Melissa groaned a week or so later in the girls' dorm. Snape had told them a few days earlier that he wanted to move forward. The cast was unable to do that if people were still clutching at their scripts. Tracy rolled her eyes and Lily sighed.

"Melissa, if you'd stop complaining and run lines, you wouldn't be so stressed."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. And since you're so stressed, let's work on your lines first." _Even though you've only got a handful…_ Lily thought.

"Thank you so much! Okay, so my first line is on page five."

"Thou villain Capulet, -Hold me not, let me go." Tracy said, taking the role of Lord Capulet without a word. Melissa thought a moment.

"… Oh! Um.., Thou shan't stir a foe to seek a foot."

"Close: 'Thou shalt not stir a foot to seek a foe.'" Lily corrected, sitting on book for Melissa.

"Oh… I'm never going to get it right."

"Yes, yes you will. You were really close. You just need to rearrange the words, that's all. Let's try your next line. Page 10, Tracy, please."

"While we were interchanging thrusts and blows, Came more and more and fought on part and part, 'Till the prince came, who parted either part."

"O, where is Romeo? Saw you him to-day? I'm glad he was not at this fray."

"Excellent! Only your last line was a bit off. It's 'Right glad I am he was not at the fray'."

"Oh, shoot. Can we try that one again later?" Lily nodded and gave Tracy the next page number. Melissa went through her lines about three times, taking up a full fifteen minutes when it should have taken five. But the last round was just to assure her she had her lines down pat.

"Okay, Tracy. Your turn."

"All right. Here, Melissa."

"What page, Lily?"

"Page five."

"Oh! That's just like mine!" Melissa said happily.

"Yes, I'm in the same scene. What's my cue?"

"Oh, sorry." Melissa scanned the page for Lady Capulet's first line. The two other girls sighed. Melissa was a great actress and a terrific friend, but the stress was getting to her, making her lose what sense she normally had. The girls spent the rest of their day practicing their lines. They were joined for a while by the boys, who had run out of ways to pass the time during a rainy Sunday afternoon.

"All right, everyone. I hope you've all practiced your lines as much as I have." Lily said Monday evening during the next meeting. "Let's all get up on stage so we can begin blocking." She nodded to Snape, who took the floor, so to speak.

"We'll start at the beginning. Hannah will be sitting on book for you if you need it. Try not to. Narrator, you may begin."

"In fair Verona where we lay our scene…" Amy Coote, a sixth year in Ravenclaws began. Snape nodded appreciatively when she had finished, the introduction proving flawless. She smiled and skittered off stage, the next line quickly picked up by Sampson and Gregory's 

characters. The run through went well, in Snape's opinion, although a few of the minor characters needed to work on their parts more. And Sirius, while he played his role spectacularly and brought even the tiniest of smiles to Snape's lips, could use a bit more practice. He told those who needed to improve to practice their lines and have them down by the next meeting.

"You all did wonderfully today, truly, you did. The next meeting for the entire cast will be Thursday evening. Make sure you know your lines so we can run through without any stops." Lily stood to announce plans for stage crew.

"And to make the show even better, besides practicing your lines and really committing them to memory, those of you who are interested can assist with the set. There will be a meeting tomorrow after supper, at the usual time. You can help design the sets and maybe we can even get started on making them. Thanks everyone. Good night." The cast left, murmuring excitedly amongst themselves. Lily smiled and surveyed the Great Hall.

"Goodbye Severus!" she called, watching him give a little wave before he left. She waved her wand to put the room back to rights then turned to greet her friends before they all walked up to the common room together.

"Melissa, you were absolutely splendid!" Lily said with a smile. "Oh, and you too, Tracy, Remus, Sirius, Ja-" Her eyes clouded when her gaze landed on James and Hannah talking in a corner of the room. _Oh, no…_ she thought. She saw Hannah look down and brush her cheeks. Was James dumping her? Lily tore her attention away from the scene to look at the person speaking to her.

"Lily, are you all right?" Tracy asked. She nodded and caught Remus' eye. He had seen what Lily saw and was concerned, too.

"Yes, thank you. I'm fine. I'll meet you all in the common room in a minute then?"

"All right. See you Evans. You coming, Moony?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there, Padfoot. Are you going to be all right, Lils?"

"I think so. Thank you, Remus."

"Not a problem. I'll see you in a few minutes." She nodded and turned back to James, soon enough to see Hannah slipping out the doors. James rubbed his face and turned. He froze when he saw Lily standing there. She got herself together and walked over to him, resolute.

"L-lily…. What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting to ask you what just happened between you and your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend…"

"Oh, but I thought you were dating her?" Lily said, disappointed in him.

"I was… And I'm not proud of using her. I'm sorry, Lily."

"Oh, don't apologize to me. I'm not the one with a broken heart. Hannah is."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just wasn't-"

"Wasn't thinking, I know. Well, maybe you should think about someone else's feelings for a change, James. Frankly, I expected better from you this year. You'd think being Head Boy would give you some sense of right and wrong-" James opened his mouth to protest. "But apparently _not_. Good night, James. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and made her way up to the Gryffindor common room, leaving James to kick the wall in frustration and self-hate. He had half a mind to follow Lily, but thought better of it and went to the Head Tower instead.

Lily stepped through the portrait hole and immediately located the rowdy Sirius. Everyone else was nearby, doing their own thing. Remus had taken to looking up every time the 

portrait hole opened and was naturally the first to notice her entrance. He put down his quill, stopping in the middle of a word.

"How'd it go?"

"I'm fine. I simply gave James something to think about, since he obviously hasn't been doing enough himself." Remus was torn between acknowledging the humor in the sentence and remaining solemn, as the situation called for. He was still deciding when Sirius noticed the two standing around and not having fun.

"Oi! Moony, Evans. Get over here! Join the party!" Lily smiled and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him over to the group.

"From what I can see, Sirius, you're being a dimwit, Peter's fascinated by it, Tracy and Melissa are talking, and Remus was working on homework."

"So, I was the only one having fun, but now you're here and you can have fun with me." He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled deviously, downing his fourth or fifth Butterbeer.

"I think I'll join, Remus. Thanks though." Sirius shrugged and went on with his merrymaking. Lily sat down on the couch next to Remus and pulled out her Potions textbook. She saw Remus look at her out of the corner of his eye and smile.

"What're you smiling at?"

"Nothing…" Lily raised an eyebrow. Remus sighed and continued. "It's just that you handled that very well. Normally, if he'd said something asinine like that, you'd be screaming your head off at him."

"Well, yelling didn't get me anywhere for the last six years, did it?"

"A good point. Potions? That's not due until Thursday."

"I know… It's just that the only thing I've left to do is Ancient Runes and I'm finding the chapter very difficult. Are you?"

"It's a little challenging, but I'm sure you can do it if you put your mind to it." Lily smiled.

"Thanks, Remus. But I don't think it's that easy. I've been so intent on learning my lines that, I hate to admit, I haven't been paying as much attention in class as I should have."

"Well, that does present a problem… Do you want me to help you? I mean, my concentration hasn't been all that good, but I took notes." He gestured to nearly four feet of parchment.

"That's not taking notes to you?" He smiled wryly.

"I could have taken better."

"I'm sure you got everything I need. Thanks." Before Lily could even glance at the notes, Sirius came bounding over, worried.

"Evans, where's James?"

"Last I saw he was in the Great Hall. Why?"

"Just wondering." Lily furrowed her brow as she saw his eyes flick over to Remus and back. Lily watched Sirius, confused, as he sprinted out of the common room. She looked back at Remus when she heard a groan. He was pale and sweating, his hands shaking. Lily had no idea what to do.

**Dun dun dun! What will happen? No one knows… Oh wait, I do! Hope you liked it, despite its lack of important info, but it needs to be there to set up the next chapter. (Even without the cliffy… Sorry about that, by the way.) :D Please review!**


	12. Transforming Relationships

**Okay, new chapter! Enjoy!**

"Remus, I've got to get you to the hospital wing. Madame Sangard will know what to do…" Lily said desperately, coming up with nothing else to do. However, she was kept from acting on her idea by Remus' distressed eyes shouting that he could not possibly go there. Lily's eyes flitted about the room, thinking of something else she could possibly do.

"Sirius will know, won't he? Melissa, go get Sirius, quick!" She nodded fervently and ran out of the common room to find him. A small group formed around the two then, mostly those involved in the play. Peter had left when he saw the condition Remus was in.

"Tracy, can you go get some water, please?" She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave his sight, but ran for the dorm as fast as Melissa had followed Sirius. She returned in about 30 seconds with a large glass. Lily took it from her and held it to Remus' lips. He drained it too quickly for Lily's comfort Tracy ran to get some more. By the time she had returned with the second glass, Sirius bolted through the portrait hole, closely followed by James and Melissa, all of them gasping for breath. The boys raced over and helped Remus off the couch. They half carried, half dragged him out of the room. Lily followed after, waiting for an opportunity to help. The boys were on the first flight of stairs when they noticed her behind them. James looked at her, astonished.

"Lily, you can't follow us, it-"

"Why not?! I want to help! Remus is my friend too! And just because I don't know what's going on doesn't mean I can't help!"

"Lily, James is right… you shouldn't come…"

"Dammit, Sirius! I'm bloody coming! And neither of you can stop me!"

"All right. But don't say we didn't warn you…"

"Don't worry. I won't. Now what can I do to help."

"We can't really do anything at the moment. You can help carrying if you want. He's heavier since the last time we've been caught off guard…"

"This has happened before?" They exchanged a look that clearly said they'd let something slip. "Well, has it?"

"Yeah… And we'd tell you why, but it's really not our place to tell you. It's Remus'."

"Well I don't think he's able to tell me right now, do you?"

"Sirius, she's right. And if we're letting her help, she's going to find out anyway. We might as well let her be prepared."

"Fine. You tell her. I'm not going to let Remus down, though."

"Sirius, I think he'll understand."

"Well?" She asked.

"Lily, Remus is… well, he's a- he's a werewolf."

"Wh-what?"

"He's a werewolf. And with all the excitement over the play, we all forgot about the full moon. Hey, Sirius, where's Pete?"

"Hi guys." A voice said from the next floor down. Peter was gasping for breath, not as fit as either of the other two boys who'd been running. Sirius rolled his eyes and set Remus' feet down to help Peter up. Lily and Peter joined the other two in carrying Remus, lightening the load a bit for them. Lily was confused when they brought him to the Whomping Willow.

"What are you doing?!" She was about to ask before she saw James take out his wand and heard him say _Immobilus_. The tree froze and Sirius ran over to press a knot in the tree. Lily thought they were both crazy by this point. But then Remus regained some strength and clarity of 

mind. James and Sirius helped him over to a tunnel that lead under the tree. Lily followed, still confused. The tunnel wound through the ground until it hit a slight upward slant. A small light glowed from a few feet ahead and Lily found herself climbing up through the floor of the Shrieking Shack. She gasped, more in admiration than surprise. The depth of the boys' friendship truly astounded her.

Before she could ponder the situation any longer, Remus cringed on the floor, hair forcing its way up through the skin. His face contorted, stretching into a snout with fangs filling his mouth. Lily's eyes widened at the sudden transformation and the pain he seemed to be in. She bent down by his side and took his hand as it turned into a paw, fingernails growing to the size of small blades. More stretching and contorting occurred before the transformation was complete. Remus was overtaken by the foul, leering werewolf within, eyes turning from friendly hazel to a brown so dark it was almost black. A growl escaped his lips and he rolled over onto all fours before he stood, towering over the four humans below him.

"Ready guys?" James asked.

"As ever, Prongs," Sirius answered. Peter nodded, trembling. In the blink of an eye, the rest of the Marauders went through transformations of their own. Lily gasped, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The nicknames didn't seem so arbitrary, they made perfect sense.

Padfoot, the shaggy black dog Sirius became, the wolfish grin on his face and the gray eyes sparkling with amusement would fit on either body. Wormtail, the pudgy gray rat nearly went unnoticed, standing between Sirius and Prongs.

Lily appraised the stag, unable to find anything to criticize unlike James' character. Strong muscles were nearly hidden by the honey brown fur that smoothed his whole figure. A pair of sturdy antlers grew from his forehead, above the same chocolate brown eyes Lily had 

come to know, if reluctantly. Her observations of the boys were cut short by a roar from behind her. The werewolf that had taken over was not happy.

Padfoot and Prongs trotted over to stand in front of Lily, protecting her from his blind rage. The beast rose on his hind legs and lunged. Although Padfoot had launched himself to Remus' back, digging in his claws and James had risen on his hind legs to ward off an attack, Werewolf Remus managed to catch Lily's cheek, four long trails of blood formed, stinging.

Lily gasped in pain, a feeling of betrayal creeping through her, despite the fact that she told herself over and over that he didn't know what he was doing, Remus wasn't there. _But he has to be there somewhere…_ she said. She could either try to bring his true personality through the anger, or she could run back to Hogwarts and let the boys fight on their own. She walked to James' side and placed a hand on Remus' chest. The other went up to his face, her thumb absently stroking his cheek.

"Remus, I know you're in there. I know you can calm down. You just need to try. Try for me, okay?" The monster started to growl, but Lily looked into his eyes and something stopped his anger. Whether it was the hideous sight of blood trailing down such a beautiful face, or the calm, reassuring voice with which she spoke to him, or the gentle, caring hands that did it, Remus didn't even know.

The only thing anyone knew was that Remus pulled away and got down on all fours, submissive. Sirius retracted his claws, and hopped off his back, wary of any unexpected remnant of vicious nature. James, too, relaxed and looked at Lily with an amazed look. Or at least that's what she thought it was. She didn't know how to interpret the facial expressions of deer. She laughed at the humorous path of her thoughts in such a dangerous setting. The werewolf cocked 

his head and a low rumble came from his chest. It seemed like a growl at first, and the boys tensed, moving to stand in front of Lily once more.

"No, it's all right. He's laughing, Sirius. James, it's okay. Let me through." They grudgingly moved aside, letting her pass between them. She approached Remus with her hand outstretched. He took a step closer and Lily sat on the floor slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. A few more steps forward and Lily had his head in between her hands. She stroked his face, petting him as she would a dog. He lay down next to her, stomach touching the ground. His tongue lolled out and Lily laughed again.

"You're like a little puppy, aren't you?" She was answered by a panting grin. Sirius trotted over and nudged the hand at her side that had stopped petting Remus.

"Yes you're a silly puppy, too, Sirius." He barked and grinned. James circled the group until he was in front of Lily. He lowered himself slowly and looked at her curiously. She removed her hand from Sirius' head and reached slowly towards James. Her hand met his forehead and she gasped. The fur was as soft as it looked and it surprised her. She let her fingers trace their way down his face. Her other hand stroked the other side of its own volition. It startled her when she noticed it there. Lily smiled to herself and moved her hands down his neck, feeling his blood pump underneath her fingers, the muscles and tendons quivering with her touch. She was suddenly overcome by fatigue and her hands stopped their petting. She scooted across the floor to lean on the wall. The boys followed her and lay down next to her. She started stroking them absently until her eyelids slipped down and she fell asleep.

Her eyes opened at the glow of the rising sun and a groan from Remus. She looked over and blushed, looking away quickly. His clothes had torn during his transformation. Lily stood 

and stretched, stepping over Sirius, who was still a shaggy black dog. James was human again, and dressed. He must have changed after he was sure she was asleep and gotten dressed before falling asleep. Lily looked at the clothing on the floor until she found what she was looking for: the shredded pair of pants that Remus had been wearing. They would still fit and cover everything, but they were tattered at the ends and looked more like shorts than pants.

She turned back around and saw him sitting up, looking at her. When he noticed his naked state, he blushed, too, mumbling thanks before slipping into the shadows to slip the pants on. He returned just as Sirius started to stir.

"Hey," Lily said as he came to stand next to her.

"Hey." They watched Sirius stretch and yawn before standing and grabbing his own trousers and retreating to the same shadowy corner as Remus. He nodded at the two when he came back.

"Morning, Sirius."

"Moony. Evans."

"Good morning Sirius. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. Nice job last night, by the way. You don't know how it feels not to wake up with dried blood matted in your fur." He grinned and winked at Remus. His werewolf friend returned the grin apologetically. Lily smiled a little, but was distracted by the stirring James. He groaned, stretching his cramped back. They all heard the loud crack as his spine realigned. He looked up, feeling their gaze. He stood and rolled his shoulders.

"Hey guys," he said to Remus and Sirius.

"Morning, Prongs."

"James." Remus greeted. James seemed to notice Lily for the first time just then, for he said, "Oh, hi Lily."

"Hi James."

"You were amazing last night." Sirius quirked an eyebrow and James realized what his sentence implied. "Oh! I didn't mean it like that. Just, the way you dealt with Remus. We've never been able to get him to calm down."

"I was glad to help. I don't know why I was able to, though." She looked at Remus.

"Hey, I'm not sure what happened, either. Maybe you just have that touch." She smiled and Sirius patted his back. Remus winced in pain. Lily remembered that Sirius had dug his claws into his back the night before. There were eight punctures in all, four higher than the others. Bruises ringed all of them and dried blood lined his back.

"Oh, that looks bad."

"He just needs to get to the Hospital Wing," Sirius assured her.

"Well, let's go before everyone else wakes up," she said. James stood quietly to the side. Peter was still asleep, curled into a furry little ball on top of his clothes. Sirius picked him up, wrapped in the clothing and gestured for Lily and Remus to precede him into the secret passageway. Lily smiled at him and followed Remus down the tunnel, a new bond having been forged with the three after the experience they shared last night.

**Gee, who could have guessed Remus was transforming?? Yeah, I know some of you did and I bet the rest of you did, too. I hope you liked this chapter anyway. Sorry for the lack of dialogue, but they **_**were**_** mostly animals, so they kinda couldn't talk… I'll try to update soon! :D (And I promise lots of talking then!)**


	13. Forming a Plan

**Hey, hey! Sorry for the wait. Enjoy the new chapter!**

The group made their way to the Hospital Wing quickly, despite any soreness or tenderness they felt in their bodies. When Madame Sangard saw them, she gasped.

"Oh, Miss Evans! I was expecting the boys, but not you. And your face!"

"Honestly, I'd nearly forgotten about it. Remus' wounds are much worse. They're deep." The nurse took a look and nodded.

"Right you are. You'll make a good healer someday, I'll wager. Let's get you both taken care of. Mr. Black, Mr. Potter? Do you have any injuries?" She asked from her office as she rifled through cabinets to find the various potions needed.

"Nothing major. Just a few bruises. We'll be fine."

"You may be, but I've got plenty of potions for bruising. Here you are." She handed them two vials of a light blue liquid. "How is Mr. Pettigrew?"

"He's all right," Sirius said after swallowing the potion he was giving with a slight grimace.

"Glad to hear it. Would you like to take him to the bathroom so he can change?" she asked, cleaning Remus' wounds before placing some salve and a bandage over it.

"Sure. Hey, Pete. Wake up, Mate!" Remus rolled his eyes. Madame Sangard wordlessly handed him a potion, this one thick and dark green. He downed it, wincing as it burned its way through his throat, but didn't complain.

"Now, Miss Evans. Would you mind tucking your hair out of the way?" Lily nodded and brushed it off of her face. The nurse touched it tenderly and Lily cringed out of the way.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem, Dear. I'm sure it hurts. A little something to numb it, then." She left to retrieve the required potion and handed it to Lily, waiting a bit for it to take effect. A little more examination and Madame Sangard had come to a conclusion.

"It's not too deep, it'll be fine. I'll just give you something to speed up the healing process."

"Thank you," Lily said as she was handed the potion, a lighter shade of green than Remus', but equally painful to take in. She gave a mental shrug and stood up.

"You can all go," Madame Sangard informed them when Peter had joined the group. "I'd like to speak with Miss Evans, though. It'll only take a moment. You'll have time to clean up."

"It's not a problem." Lily said this as much to reassure the nurse as to reassure the boys. "I'll see you at breakfast, boys."

"All right."

"Se e you, Evans."

"Bye, Lily."

"Yeah…" James was the last to depart, casting a glance over his shoulder as he slipped out the door. Lily watched him go before turning her attention to the nurse.

"Miss Evans, I can only assume that your presence here today means you know Remus' secret. You know you're not to tell anyone."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm surprised that there were so little injuries this time. Was that your doing?"

"I suppose. I just didn't want the boys to get hurt. I asked Remus to calm down, and I guess it worked…"

"Well. No matter how well you dealt with it, I'll have to ask you to not go again. And you'll have to have a few words with the Headmaster…"

"Oh…"

"Now, don't worry, Dear. You'll be fine. Now go clean up and get down to breakfast."

"Yes ma'am." Lily left, wishing there was a way to help the boys. She sighed, thinking of a solution to the problem of keeping Remus and the others safe from any new injuries. She was upset that she was unable to come up with something and reluctantly pushed the thought away. She showered and pulled her hair back, letting a few strands of shorter hair cover the scratches. She looked at herself in the mirror, satisfied that the style would, in fact, cover the wounds and ward off any unwanted questions she might get otherwise.

"Hey, Boys," Lily greeted the marauders as she sat next to Remus, across from James.

"Hey, Lily," Remus said, looking at Peter's full mouth with distaste. The smaller boy nodded and waved a greasy hand. Lily smiled back.

"Morning, Evans." Sirius was as impersonal as ever.

"Good morning, Sirius. How is everyone?"

"Tired." That was Sirius.

"Sore." Remus. James just stared at Lily.

"Is there a problem, James?"

"No, quite the opposite. It doesn't look like you got hurt at all…"

"That's what I was going for. I'm glad it worked." Sirius nudged James and whispered something in his ear that sounded suspiciously like "Dude, that's _hot_." James glared in response. Lily suppressed a smile and looked at Remus. He was doing the same thing. They smiled at each 

other and quickly went back to their breakfasts before Sirius and James could ask about the exchange. Suddenly, Lily remembered something.

"James?"

"Oh, um… Yeah, Lily?"

"Do you think we should post something in the Common Rooms again?"

"About what?"

"The stage crew and set painting."

"Oh, sure."

"All right." She pulled out parchment and quill and started writing, seeming to have forgotten her breakfast entirely.

"Lily, are you going to eat?"

"Yes, after I finish making enough copies for the Common Rooms. Oh, and perhaps a stack per classroom…"

"You can't do all that in ten minutes, Evans."

"I know that, Sirius. That's why I was going to use a Reproduction charm."

"Oh…" Lily smiled and finished her sentence. Then she performed the spell and small piles of flyers for each teacher suddenly lay on the table, bound nicely with twine. A few extras sat on top to be placed in the common rooms.

Sirius and Peter gaped, mouths wide open in astonishment. James had the same look on his face as them, minus the open mouth. Remus quirked an eyebrow and smiled. He seemed to be the only Marauder who wasn't surprised that a girl could be magically skilled, or at least a girl that they all knew. Lily noticed their reactions and blushed.

"How'd you manage that, Evans?" Sirius asked. Lily just blushed more and mumbled something about Charms being her favorite class and that she just loved doing them...

"I dunno _what_ you just said, but you've got some serious skills." Sirius said, with a grin. Lily smiled tentatively and shrugged. James had recovered and was nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, that was impressive."

"Nice job, Lily. I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were so talented." Remus said. Just as the blood in Lily's cheeks had receeded to a more natural shade of pink, she blushed again, wishing they would stop with all the compliments.

"And to do the spell so flawlessly and without words… that's just amazing!"

"Thanks you guys, but really…"

"Don't be modest, Lily." Remus said.

"Yeah, you're good." Peter said. Lily smiled, finally able to control the annoying redness in her cheeks.

"All right, I think we've embarrassed her enough…" James said. Lily cast him a curious look, wondering how he could be sympathetic when he was usually basking in the admiring glow of younger students. And basking shamelessly at that. He shrugged in response and smiled.

"Anyway, I was wondering if either of you would like to help me put these up in the common rooms."

"Sure." Sirius took them from her offering hands and picked up a piece of toast and his bag before leaving to post the flyers. Lily sat there, her hand still outstretched. She hadn't expected Sirius, of all the Marauders, to post them without a second thought. She shook her head to clear it and continued on with her breakfast. James exchanged an equally surprised look with 

Remus. His werewolf friend responded with a shrug, not quite sure what caused that behavior either.

The group finished eating and went to class, where they expected to see Sirius. He wasn't there, which worried everyone. Lily felt a surge of relief at the sound of slow footsteps approaching the room. A few seconds later, Sirius entered the room nonchalantly, holding up a roll of parchment tied with a crimson ribbon.

"Sorry, Sluggy. Got held up with a little mite of a first year. He wanted me to give this to Evans." Any relief Lily had felt vanished with his last sentence. She eyed the scroll warily, fighting the insanely silly urge to cringe as she took it from Sirius' hands. She opened it and read the note quickly.

"Not a problem m'boy. I understand perfectly."

"Erm, Professor?" Lily asked.

"Yes, Miss Evans? Will you be needing to leave?"

"Yes, actually. Sorry, Sir."

"It's quite all right, dear. Don't think on it."

"Thank you." Lily put her quill, book, and parchment back in her bag before she rose and left the room, casting a look back at the boys. Remus waved and Sirius winked. James just nodded, watching her go.

"All right, everyone. Let's get on with it. Page 64 if you will," Lily heard Slughorn say as she left the dungeon and headed up to the Headmaster's office. She mentally prepared herself for both the conversation and the question that had been forming in the back of her mind since she left the Hospital Wing yesterday.

**So? Whatcha think? Please review, hope you like it! The new chapter should be up soon, because I've got nothing to do this week and I am on a roll! :)**


	14. Hope and Heartbreak

**All right! Here's a new chapter for you guys… hope you like!**

Lily made her way up the spiral staircase that led to the door of the Headmaster's office.

"Ah, Miss Evans, come in," Dumbledore said at Lily's knock. She pushed the door open, shifting her bag's weight nervously.

"Please take a seat." Lily nodded and sat down and removed her bag from her shoulder. She gripped it with one hand, still nervous.

"How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, Sir."

"Madame Sangard tells me you got a few rather nasty scratches on your cheek. I can hardly tell."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Why so nervous, Miss Evans? You've been in here before. And you must know why you're here… Ah, that's it, then. Are you upset about not being able to help your friends with this problem anymore?"

"Yes, Sir. I really want to be there for them. And I can calm Remus down when he's in his…wolf form. I don't think I could stand not being there…"

"The boys are only permitted to help Remus because they are Animagi. We can't risk you being bitten."

"I understand. I just wish there was something I could do to help…"

"If you like, you can go to the Hospital Wing in the mornings and Madame Sangard will teach you a bit about healing. But I can't let you go with them during the transformations."

"Yes, Sir."

"All right. Now that that's all settled, you may go." Lily stood, but instead of turning for the door, she took a step forward.

"Actually, Professor, I was wondering, since I'm not an Animagus, if I could learn to be one, so I can go with them?" Dumbledore studied her for a moment, considering her request.

"I shall have to consult with the other teachers and of course Madame Sangard, but you offer a very plausible solution. You will be able to assist at full moon as you like, and there will be a dramatic drop in injuries. It is also, perhaps safer for the other students that we don't have an enraged werewolf running around campus."

"Thank you, Professor! Thank you so much!"

"Yes, well, nothing is certain until the other teachers give approval. And your parents, of course." Lily's smile disappeared.

"Oh, I won't be telling them the details, just that you will be helping a fellow student in such a way that you put yourself in danger. Of course, they'll also have to know how competent in such situations…"

"Thank you!" Lily felt like hugging him. But, she didn't, because that would be rather embarrassing.

"Nothing is decided yet, so I cannot accept such fervent thanks."

"Right, of course… Well, thank you, Professor."

"You are very welcome, Miss Evans." Lily smiled and turned to leave. She closed the door behind her and stopped when she saw who stood at the other end in front of the gargoyle, waiting for her.

"Sirius?"

"Hey, Lily."

"What are you doing here? How did you get out of Slughorn's?" He shrugged.

"Told him I needed to relieve myself. I wanted to see how things went."

"That's sweet of you... Everything's fine."

"Really? You don't have detention for being out after hours or anything?"

"No, actually." The two started walking down the hall to their next class.

"How'd you get yourself out of that one?" Lily smiled.

"How do the Marauder's get out of trouble?"

"You didn't lie, did you? Because he can see right through lies…" She laughed.

"No, Sirius. I did not lie. I don't think I would have gotten in trouble anyway. Quite the opposite, actually."

"You can come with us?" Sirius looked at her in wonder.

"Well, nothing's decided. He's go to talk to the other teachers… and my parents."

"So why are you so upbeat?" All of Sirius' hope of Lily joining them disappeared at the mention of the word parents.

"Because Professor Dumbledore has a way with words." Lily grinned.

"That's great! …Did he say _why_ he was going to let you come?"

"I'm pretty sure it's along the same lines as why he still lets you, James, and Peter go." Sirius' eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks.

"You're going to become an Animagus?" He whispered.

"Isn't that the only way?" Lily smiled and Sirius nodded, thinking.

"Yeah, I guess so. So the stage crew thing's tomorrow, eh?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Sirius took her arm in his and they started walking again. Lily tried not to blush, but like that morning, didn't really have much control over it.

"I figured I'd come and help. Art's not my thing, but if you need some muscle…" Lily laughed as he flexed the arm not holding onto her.

"Thank you, Sirius. That's a very kind offer. I might take you up on it. Merlin knows Melissa would like to see you work that muscle."

"Oh… yeah… Melissa," he said, mind far off now.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just didn't think she'd be there, that's all."

"I see… Well, she's actually very good with a brush. And Tracy will be there, too. Is Remus going to be coming?"

"Probably. Either that or he'll be studying. James'll probably be there if he's not."

"Is he jealous?"  
"Wha?"

"Is James jealous of my friendship with Remus?"

"I dunno. I never really thought about it. He hasn't been antagonistic towards him or anything."

"Well that's good at least." Sirius nodded and they walked for a bit more, silence between them.

"Was he awfully upset about what I said to him after the last practice?"

"Oh, that… I think you certainly got through to him… You made him think. And it takes a lot to make Prongs think!" They grinned at each other as they entered the Potions hallway. Lily's face fell as she turned and saw James standing there, hurt eyes locked on their intertwining limbs. She immediately removed herself from Sirius' grasp.

"Oh, dear…"

"What is wrong with you?!" James shouted at Sirius.

"Prongs, it's not what it looked like, Mate…" James glared.

"Well then, what _was_ it? Because it looked an awful lot like you had your hands on my girl! How could you _do_ this to me, Sirius? I thought we were best mates." James had a hold of the front of Sirius' robes now, and had him against the wall.

"We are, Prongs. I wasn't trying to take Lily from you, honestly!"

"I'm not so sure. I ought to-"  
"James! Let go of him!" James let go and turned, the hurt in his eyes even greater.

"Right, sorry. Wouldn't want to hurt your boyfriend. Guess I wasn't _thinking_." Lily flinched at his reminder of what she had said in the Great Hall. She felt a tear trickle down her face as he stalked off with a final glare at Sirius.

"James! Wait! I'm sorry! Come back!"

"Why do you want me? I'm just a thoughtless moron who doesn't care about other people's feelings."

"James, you know I don't think that! Don't go!" Lily ran after him as he turned the corner, tears blurring her vision. She tripped and fell over a spot in the thick carpet where the corner had been flipped up. The tears came down harder and James stopped in his tracks. He turned and walked quickly back to her, helping her sit up.

"Shh, don't cry, Lily. Please don't cry." He held her close, almost pulling her into his lap. She wiped the tears away, but they came back. James sighed. How had he let himself hurt her like that?

"Lily, please don't cry. I shouldn't have said those things. I should have known they would have hurt you. If you like Sirius, I can't get in your way. I just want you to be happy. I 

guess I wasn't thinking… again." Lily's tears had stopped for the moment and she looked up at James with glistening emerald eyes that made him wince. He had caused those tears. He had caused that pain.

"You don't need to apologize, James. Your emotions got the better of you. I understand that. But what _you_ need to understand is that I am not going out with Sirius. We're just friends. So are Remus and I. You don't need to be upset with either one of them."

"I know. I don't know what got into me."

"Oh, it's just that whole 'not thinking' thing again," Lily said grinning. James smiled.

"Maybe I should go see Madame Sangard about that. Maybe there's a cure."

"I hope not." James looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "I like you just the way you are."

"Why thank you." He helped Lily stand, smiles on both of their faces. Sirius and Remus watched from the adjacent hallway, observing quietly. Their thoughts were similar, but not necessarily the same. Sirius was confused, torn between his feelings for Lily and that feeling of betrayal he had felt when she mentioned Melissa. Remus was happy for his two friends, but couldn't shake the feeling of despairing loss that had crept into the back of his mind, nagging him. Then Lily looked over James' shoulder and saw the identical looks of pain on their faces.

**So? Whatcha think? Please review! The next chapter should be up within the week!**


	15. Discovered Flair

**Okay, here ya go. Hope you like!  
**

Lily stood by James' side outside the dungeons. Sirius and Remus were standing around the corner, having just witnessed a tender moment between the two Heads. Peter was standing a ways back, not wishing to get involved. Lily blushed, hiding behind her hair. James saw her change in behavior and turned to see what she had been looking at. He fought off a blush of his own, realizing that his best mates had just seen him acting the kindhearted gentleman. Remus noticed that the two were uncomfortable and made to interrupt the awkward silence.

"So… Why don't we get to our next class? We can take our lunch out to the lake after, maybe."

"Okay."

"Yeah."

"Good plan." Remus shook his head in amusement at the sudden jump to return things to normal. Everyone was relieved that he managed to save the moment and keep things from getting more awkward. Sirius shook himself out of his thoughts and grinned.

"Well, let's not just stand here; let's go before I'm late again." Peter sensed the change in the atmosphere and finally joined in. Lily looked up at James and smiled. He smiled back, his heart melting. Remus and Sirius shifted uncomfortably, but chose to ignore it. James cautiously placed an arm around Lily's waist, pulling her close to him when she did not protest.

"Come on, you lovebirds. We can't just stand here all day," Sirius said, following Remus' lead. Lily rolled her eyes and took James' hand, walking side by side with him all the way to the Charms classroom.

When they arrived, the Marauders and Lily said hello to Professor Kunestin. The teacher greeted them cheerily, telling them that she was just so very excited about starting to create the sets this evening. They smiled politely and sat down. James took a seat next to Lily and put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her gently. Lily smiled at him took out parchment and quills in preparation to take notes. Remus followed suit, while James, Sirius and Peter started a conversation.

Their debate on whether or not it was fair for one teacher to give out detentions as punishment for pulling pranks on other teachers was cut short when the professor called the class to order. Reluctantly, James pulled out his own parchment and quill so as not to draw Lily's disapproving attention towards him. Remus quirked an eyebrow and shared an amused look with Lily. The rest of class passed without anything strange occurring, other than the fact that James did, in fact, take notes.

"All right, everyone. May I please have your attention," Lily more demanded then asked that evening in the Great Hall. Many large canvases were rolled up and piled on one of the tables. The others were adorned with supplies needed for both constructing the sets and decorating them.

"As you know, _Romeo and Juliet_ is set in thirteenth or fourteenth century Italy. We have managed to find adequate information about the architecture and landscape there. Also, Professor Kunestin has kindly agreed to assist with the art portion of the set production. If you have any questions you can ask her, or either of us and we'll try to help. Now, we'll be working on the interior sets in that area and the outdoor sets in that one. If anyone is interested in costume design or props, either James or I will be back at that table. Thank you all for coming. Let's get started!"

After little more than a half hour, Professor Kunestin had organized the students and outlined the set designs. She left them to paint the canvases themselves, occasionally coming around to check on color tones and shading. Tracy, Melissa, Peter, Remus, and Sirius were working on the outdoor sets with a few other people in the cast. Melissa and Sirius had positioned themselves at the other end of the canvas, working on the buildings. Sirius watched Melissa quickly spread paint over the surface, then mixed a slightly darker color for shadows. Not only did she work quickly, but it was clean, neat, and seemed to pop off the canvas.

"How do you do that?" Melissa didn't look up, still shading.

"What?"

"Have you looked at what you're doing?" She stopped and leaned back.

"What? It's not that good."

"No, it's amazing." Melissa blushed and looked back down at her work.

"It's not my best."

"How are you so good?" She shrugged.

"I like to draw. Just a lot of practice, I guess."

"That's more than just practice, Melissa. That's serious skill." Sirius didn't realize that he was gesturing with his paint-laden brush until it was too late. Light brown paint was soon flecked all over Melissa's clothes, face and hair.

"You just got paint. In my hair."

"It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"You got paint in my hair! Damn you, Sirius!" She stood up, dropping her brush in the nearby water. It splattered over the area where she had just been working, redistributing the paint in such a way that it ruined her work. Melissa glared at Sirius before leaving the Great Hall in a huff, in search of the nearest bathroom. Sirius ran after her, calling her name.

"Wonder what's going on with those too," Tracy commented to Remus, who was working on the foliage in Capulet's Orchard with her.

"Sirius just being Sirius," Remus said with a shrug. Peter, who was also attempting to paint the trees, nodded. The trio kept working, painting the base coats. After they had covered the tree tops with a basic green, they moved onto the details. Tracy threw down her brush after a few minutes, frustrated.

"I can't do this. I'm not an artist!" Remus looked over at her, then down at her work. While her initial attempts at detail weren't very good, his eyes were drawn to the splatter of darker green that her thrown brush has caused.

"You're trying too hard. Look what you just did." He pointed to the arbitrarily flung colors. Tracy stared at it a moment, then picked up the brush again. She dipped it in the color she had mixed and shook the brush. Flecks of dark green spread across the light green, giving the tree a very attractive appearance, if not a natural one. Tracy smiled appreciatively and thanked Remus. He shrugged.

"No problem. Maybe you're not good at realistic stuff, but you've got to find what works for you."

"I guess you're right. Thank you, Remus." He smiled and kept layering dark leaves over light ones. Peter tried to copy Remus, and then when that didn't turn out so well, he started over, trying it Tracy's way. It was half decent, but Peter didn't really like it.

"I can't paint well. And Professor Kunestin did the drawing for everything. I'm gonna go talk to James."

"All right. See you, Pete."

"See you."

"Poor guy," Tracy said.

"He'll find his calling soon enough."

"I hope so. I feel so bad for him. He's not exceptional at anything. I mean, you and I get good marks, James and Sirius are great wizards, Melissa's charismatic, and Lily's basically a combination of all that." Remus smiled.

"You're a good friend."

"So are you," Tracy said, smiling back. She took a break to stretch out her hand and looked over to where Peter was talking with James and Lily. Lily looked impressed and surprised at something that was on the table beside her. Remus followed her gaze.

"Wonder what that's about," he said.

"Who knows?" They went back to their work, chatting amiably about their first few weeks at Hogwarts.

"Hey, Prongs," Peter greeted James as he approached the table where he and Lily were seated.

"Hey, Peter," Lily said, pulling away from James' embrace to focus on what Peter was saying. James looked a bit disappointed, but understood that they were, in fact, there to work.

"What's up, Wormtail?" James asked. "Why aren't you helping out?"

"I'm not a painter. What I tried to do looks horrible."

"Oh, that's too bad. Have you tried another scene?" Lily asked him. Peter shook his head.

"It won't work. What are you guys doing?" he asked, gesturing to the books strewn across the table. They featured drawings of medieval clothing.

"We're trying to pick the best examples for costumes."

"Can I try? What are you looking for?" Lily glanced at James, who just shrugged, watching Peter pull a piece of parchment and an erasable quill over. Peter looked up expectantly at Lily. She shrugged, but tried to explain their dilemma.

"All of these seem to be fashions in England. We couldn't find anything about Italian fashions."

"Wouldn't Italy be warmer?"

"I suppose."

"Okay, so it'd be slightly different fabric, which would restrict exactly what you could do with certain styles."

"Okay…" Lily watched him flip through a book and sketch out a gown that looked almost exactly the same as the one in the book, but with a few alterations. He surveyed it a moment, then pulled over an eraser and changed the neck and waist lines. He altered the cuffs and the cut of the skirt.

"Is this good?" he turned the paper so it was facing Lily's direction. She looked at it, her mouth falling open slightly.

"Peter, it's… it's _amazing_! That's absolutely wonderful!" She picked it up and showed James.

"Yeah, Pete. It looks great," he agreed, unsure how he was supposed to place a verdict on women's clothing.

"Can you do the same for this?" Lily showed him a picture of a man in a tunic and tights. Peter looked at it, then went to work. He produced another sketch that pleased Lily to no end.

"Excellent! Can you do more?" Peter nodded, sketching out a series of outfits for both upper and lower classes, male and female.

"Peter, these are wonderful!" Lily said fifteen minutes later. "This would be absolutely perfect for the nurse! And you've got two different styles in the men's outfits- we could separate the Montagues and Capulets that way! You've saved the day! These are absolutely lovely! Thank you!"

"I try…" Peter said shyly. He was glad he finally found something he was good at. All that discussion about outfits for his mother came in handy. Lily hugged him in her enthusiasm, causing him to blush wildly before trotting off to tell Remus the good news. James watched Peter go before turning to Lily and kissing her gently on the lips.

"You did good." Lily kissed him back before asking, "Why? He's the one who did all the work." James put his forehead against hers, feeling they weren't close enough.

"Yes, but now he won't be beating himself up because he's not good at painting." Lily smiled at him and gave his cheek a gentle caress.

"You're a good friend," she said sincerely, bringing him into a kiss. James pulled away, somewhat shocked. "Where do you think you're going? Come back here!" Lily berated him. James grinned, then did as he was told.

**So? Thoughts? Comments? Please review! Hope you liked it! :D**


	16. Bonding

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the slight wait you had, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

"Melissa!" Sirius said as he ran after her.

"Leave me alone, Sirius!"

"Why is this such a big deal? It was an accident! It's not like I was _trying_ to cover you in paint."

"Well, you did! And now I'll never get it out of my hair!" Melissa ran into the nearest girl's bathroom. Sirius hesitated a moment, before realizing exactly which bathroom she had turned into, knowing Melissa would be the only girl inside. Well… the only living one.

"Melissa?" he called. He didn't get an answer. The only sound in the whole room was the running of water in a far corner. Sirius followed the sound, knowing he would find her there. Instead of Melissa, who he had hoped to see, he was met with none other than Moaning Myrtle.

"Hello, Sirius." Myrtle was just a few feet ahead, sitting on the edge of the sink with a look on her face that must have been trying to be seductive.

"Oh, hello, Myrtle. How are you?"

"Oh, you know… the usual. Wet… soggy… dead."

"Sorry to hear it. Would you happen to know where I could find Melissa? She just came in here a minute ago."

"Oh yes, she's in that stall over there," Myrtle pointed. "But why would you want to talk to her? She's covered in paint. And she's in a foul mood, too. I'd just come up from a nice trip to the Prefect's Bathroom when she tried to flush me out. Terrible manners, if you ask me."

"Well, she's upset because I got paint on her."

"Sounds like a bit of a diva. Why do you like her?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You've come running after her into a girl's bathroom because she had a temper tantrum. You like her."

"Well, yeah…" Myrtle sighed, rolling her eyes. She mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like '_boys…_'

"All right. Go talk to her then."

"Thanks, Myrtle."

"Hmph." She floated away, into an empty stall, disappearing with a splash. Sirius cringed away from the geyser that sprayed out surprisingly quite far behind her. He walked towards the stall Myrtle had indicated and knocked.

"Melissa?" He called softly.

"What, Sirius?"

"Can you come out so I can talk to you?"

"Why should I, you'll probably just splatter paint all over me." Sirius sighed.

"Melissa, I'm sorry for getting paint all over you. I wasn't trying to; it was an accident. Do you think you can forgive me?" Melissa thought over Sirius' words and the situation that had just passed. Suddenly, she was struck by the utter ridiculousness. She had flipped out at Sirius for no reason and he had come running after her to apologize. She pulled open the door to face him.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Sirius. _I'm_ the one who got upset for a silly reason. You've only been kind, and sweet, and wonderful, and-"

"I love you."

"Wh-what?" Sirius bent down n one knee and took Melissa's hands in his

"Melissa Ann Greene, I haven't realized it until now, but I love you."

"Oh, Sirius… That's quite an announcement. I must say I've fancied you, too. I only wish this could've happened in a more romantic atmosphere."

"Why does it matter where we are so long as we're alone, open and honest?"

"A good point."

"Of course it is," he said with a sly grin. "Now let's get you cleaned off." They walked over to a sink and after a few minutes of Melissa trying to get the stains out, Sirius realized something and laughed.

"You're a witch, you know."

"Sirius! What happened to your confession a few minutes ago?"

"I didn't mean it like that…" He pulled out his wand and pointed it towards her. "I meant you could just use magic. _Evanesco_."

"Oh… Right… Of course…" Melissa said, trying to pass it off as if she'd known all along. Sirius quirked an eyebrow at her and they both burst into laughter.

"All right, let's get going," Sirius said after they had caught their breath. "Lily might punish us for being away from production without a reason. Alone." Melissa blushed.

When Sirius and Melissa walked back into the common room, Peter came over, chatting excitedly.

"What's going on, Pete?" Sirius asked, unable to decipher the words coming out of his friend's mouth.

"I'm the new fashion designer!"

"Ah… Good for you." Then the meaning of those words hit Sirius. "Wait. What?"

"I'm going to be designing everybody's costumes!"

"Yeah, I got that, but _why_ are you the fashion designer?"

"Because Lily says I'm good at it, and it's fun, and I actually feel like I'm doing something useful for once-"

"Okay, Pete. I get it. It's just a bit surprising that a Marauder's designing clothes."

"Are you saying that being creative and a good artist is a bad thing, Sirius?" Melissa asked.

"No… just that it seems a bit girly, is all."

"Have you seen what Remus is doing? Have you seen what I'm doing? You said yourself that my skill was amazing."

"Er… well… that's regular art. It's not frilly clothes." Then Melissa started laughing at the discomfort on his face.

"Sirius, I'm only kidding. I understand what you're trying to say."

"Oh, good."

"But you should apologize to Peter for dismissing his passion as frilly and girly." Sirius looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yes, Sirius. You should apologize," Remus said, walking up towards the group.

"Et tu, Moony?"

"Yes, Padfoot. _Me, too (in Latin)_"

"Oh, fine, fine. I'm sorry for discarding your talent as nothing more than girly and useless, Pete"

"It's okay, Sirius. Hey, do you want to see my sketches? Here's what you're going to be wearing. Well, at least for the first day." Peter thumbed through his stack of sketches before he pulled one out and showed it to him.

"Wow, Pete. That's actually kind of stylish for being really, really old. Not so sure about the tights, though…"

"We haven't discussed materials yet, so they might not be tights. They might be a bit looser and a slightly different cloth…"

"All right, Peter. I'm sure whatever you decide on will be fine."

"Are you going to be doing the fittings for everyone?" Tracy asked, coming over.

"What?"

"The costumes need to be fitted to people's figures exactly. Are you going to do that for everyone?"

"Well, Mother forced me to learn how to sew, so I suppose so... Why do you ask?"

"Well, there are quite a few people… and it would be a bit awkward around us girls…" Tracy turned slightly pink, whereas Peter, once he thought about it, turned bright red.

"I'll just put up a flyer asking for female assistants for you, then, Pete?" Remus asked, trying to save everyone from utter humiliation. The boy nodded desperately, still slightly red. They walked back to Lily and James to retrieve quill and paper. Remus copied Lily's spell from earlier that week, producing quite a few copies.

"Excellent," he said. "Let's go hang these up and bring them to the teachers, eh?"

"Yeah… And Remus? Thanks."

"No problem, Pete. Us Marauders need to stick together." Peter nodded and followed Remus out the doors to the Great Hall, blushing yet again as he glanced at Tracy. Lily had watched the exchange a few minutes before, and seeing how red Peter had gotten, waited until later to ask questions. She wrapped up the meeting after the two Marauders had returned.

"All right everyone! We made good progress today. We'll finish up the next time. And thanks to Peter Pettigrew, we have our new costume designer!" A few cheers emerged from the assembled students, but mostly it was just the Marauders, Melissa, and Tracy.

"Okay, quiet down. When you clean up, put a preservation charm on the colors you mixed so you can both use and reproduce them the next time. I'll need someone to take all of the brushes and rinse them out in the nearest bathroom. Yes, thank you, Tracy." Tracy started quietly walking around the Hall, collecting brushes so as not to disturb Lily.

"Before you leave, if you could set them against the far wall, that would be excellent," Lily told them, pointing to the wall across from the Teacher's platform. Now let's clean up, shall we?" The students quickly righted their mess, turning the makeshift art studio back into the dining room everyone was used to. After everyone but her friends (Marauders included) had left, she surveyed the area, satisfied. Unexpectedly, James transfigured some rope and a long series of canvases. When he received odd looks from everyone around him, he said, "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for the rest of the student body, would we?" They nodded, seeing the sense in his random production of cloth and string.

Within seconds, the canvases were hung, successfully hiding the set pieces. The group headed to their respective bedrooms and slept, the meeting lasting longer than expected and having been quite tiring.

**Any thoughts? Constructive Criticism? Please review! :D**


	17. Embarrassed Marauders

**Hey, people. Sorry for the wait. My homework schedule is crazy. :P But here's an extra long chapter to make up for it! :)**

The next few weeks passed quickly, filled with classes, schoolwork, set design, learning lines, and blocking. Once everyone had learned their lines, Snape had them practice a few scenes a day. The first day went relatively well, although the boys playing Sampson and Gregory got a good walloping when Sirius got out of hand during the fight scene. Madame Pomfrey nearly had a fit, threatening to tell Dumbledore. However, when James (he being the one that forced Sirius to help him haul the younger students up many flights of stairs as punishment) apologized, saying it wouldn't happen again, she softened up immensely. Although that could've just had something to do with the fact that James had smacked his best friend across the head a few times…

"Prongs! Why'd you hit me?!"

"Because you were an idiot and beat up a couple of fourth years."

"But it HURT!"

"Padfoot, any other Head Boy would've given you a week's worth of detention with Filch and a visit to Dumbledore's office. Plus you were able to hide behind the feeble excuse of practicing for the play."

"But you HURT me!" James spun around to glare at Sirius, but stopped when he saw the mischievous grin on his face. So instead, he stuck out his tongue and said, "Why don't you go bug someone else. Like that new girlfriend of yours. The one that you _looooove_." Sirius turned pink and smacked James.

"Payback at last. Although I think I'll make good use of that suggestion… There's got to be an empty broom cupboard around here…." He started to walk off in the opposite direction, supposedly scouting out good snogging locations before James grabbed him by the collar.

"Oh no you don't. Practice isn't over yet." Sirius pretended to choke, but turned around nevertheless and made his way back downstairs with James. Melissa welcomed her "Baby" back with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, causing James to smirk and Sirius to blush. The rest of the cast was just finishing the third scene, right before the party is to begin. After another hour of practicing, Snape stopped practice.

"We'll pick up where we left off, learn some basic dance steps and continue through to Act 2, Scene 3. Look over your lines, everyone."

"Thank you all for coming," Lily said, taking over. "The next meeting should be in a few days, and stage crew will probably be a little bit after that. Now that Peter's found an assistant, a very talented third year girl, your measurements will have to be taken and then soon after that, there will be fittings. We'll keep you all up to date. Have a nice rest of the evening." The rest of the students left except for Lily, her friends, and the Marauders.

"Did you hear Severus?" Remus asked as they headed for the doors.

"He said something about Scene 3…" James said.

"Isn't that the balcony scene?" Tracy asked. Lily, hearing this, started blushing. James was completely oblivious to this. Sirius, however, seemed to understand, which was quite surprising. He opened his mouth to tease the Heads, but Melissa beat him to it.

"There's a _kiss_ in that scene, right?"

"And another one during the party," Tracy agreed. Lily blushed harder and Melissa grinned evilly. James, the message finally having gotten through his skull, also reddened.

"What's the matter, Prongs?" Sirius asked. "_Scared_?"

"Shuddup," he mumbled, turning redder.

"What's this? The infamous player James Potter is nervous about kissing Lily Evans?" This time both James and Lily blushed harder.

"Drop it, Pads." James said.

"Why? So your face can return to its normal color? I don't think so. This is too fun." James stopped in his tracks and glared at him. Sirius, finally getting it, put his hands up defensively.

"All right, Mate. I'll stop."

"Good." James glared one last time before continuing to walk ahead of the group, putting as much space as he could between himself and Sirius. He also did this to avoid Lily, but this was for a far different reason. Remus hung back with Sirius and whacked him across the back of the head.

"Why the bloody hell do people keep doing that?!" Sirius said angrily. Remus grinned and quickened his step to catch up with James and soothe him. Melissa followed suit, but went to massage the back of Sirius' head comfortingly. Lily and Tracy rolled their eyes from a few feet back.

"You know…" Sirius said. "I think we'll catch up with you guys later." He started to lead Melissa away down a hallway before Lily called out to him.

"Stay away from the broom cupboard by the painting of Linda Skeeter. She's a horrible snitch. And I know a certain Hufflepuff Prefect who likes to patrol that area."

"Thanks Evans."

"No problem. Just don't stay out too late after curfew. Then Remus'll have to write you up." Sirius stuck out his tongue and Lily grinned in response. The two departed, leaving the remaining five to make their way up to the common room without them. Peter was hanging behind James and Peter, trying to insert himself into the conversation somehow. Tracy, feeling bad for him, offered him an opening in a different conversation.

"Who's your assistant again, Pete?"

"Um, Amber Deguillo. She's a fourth from Hufflepuff, I think she said."

"Cool. So have you sketched anything for the Nurse yet?"

"I've got one thing. But I don't think we're going to use it. It's kind of ugly. Wouldn't really suit you."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure. Hang on a sec." He slowed his steps while he dug around in his bag for his folder of sketches. He rifled through some more papers before pulling out the right one. He showed it to Tracy. It really was hideous. But it would look better if it was perhaps more form fitting.

"Well, since I'm not planning on gaining enormous amounts of weight to fill the costume anyway, why don't we redraw it together and we can come up with a better one?"

"Uhh… sure." They had reached Gryffindor Tower and followed Remus and James inside. Tracy sat down with Peter and pointed out the slight changes that would make the costume look much better. At around eleven, when Lily and James were getting ready to go back to the Head Tower, Sirius and Melissa returned.

"Hey guys."

"Have fun, Pads?" James asked. Melissa blushed at the comment, but Sirius grinned.

"Maybe…"

"Oh, you dog. See you tomorrow."

"Night, Mate." Lily and James left with a final good night to all. By then, Melissa had noticed Tracy and Peter with their heads together, talking about something in depth.

"Whatcha doing, Trace?"

"Oh, um… designing my costume," she said with a blush. Melissa picked up the sketch and glanced at it critically. Sirius, having noticed Melissa's absence from his side, sidled over to see what had distracted her.

"Oh, is this your costume, Tracy?" he asked. When both she and Peter nodded, he grinned deviously. "Hey Pete. Come here. I've got an idea." Peter let himself be led away by Sirius, who put an arm around his head conspiratorially. Sirius snagged a piece of parchment and a quill on the way across the common room. When they came back, Peter had drawn a large sketch of another possible outfit for Tracy.

"What was that about, guys?" Melissa asked.

"Oh, just doing a few alterations."

"Sirius Black? Costume designing? But that's _girly_!" Melissa teased. Tracy tried to grab the sketch from Peter to see it, but Sirius did before she could get at it and held it out of reach.

"Sirius let me see it!"

"No. We've got to get Moony's approval first." He thrust the sketch at Remus, waiting for a verdict. The werewolf's cheeks suddenly became very, very red and her stammered out a reply.

"Well… ah. Um… it's… interesting…attractive… uh…" Then, finding his words he said, "But I don't think it's Tracy's style."

"Aw, Moony!"

"Wait, Sirius. Let me see." Melissa said, having a general idea of what the sketch looked like. He showed her and she grinned, her assumptions confirmed.

"What's the problem, Remus? I think it would suit Tracy quite nicely. Not a bad design. But I agree: it could definitely use some touching up. It's completely disproportionate. And not quite the right sizes…"

"Guys, let me see!" Tracy said, grabbing for the parchment. After a few tries, she managed to grab a hold of it. She looked at it critically, taking in the short skirt, low neckline, and ruffled lace. It was a thoroughly risqué outfit that closely resembled a maid outfit...

"Ew, Sirius. You are such a pervert. I'm not wearing this, Peter. Let's go with the other one. I'll even take the first one you designed if you take it in, but I'm _not_ wearing that. Besides, I'm a nurse. Not a maid."

"But, Tracy, it's adorable! And Remus likes it…" Melissa said.

"I don't care. Remus is a guy and however sweet and intelligent he may be, he is still overcome by hormones. I'm not wearing it."

"Didn't you suggest some alteration, Melissa?" Sirius asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, I did. What a splendid idea, Sirius. Peter, would you mind working on this a bit more?" Melissa asked sweetly.

"N-no. Of course not. Um… What does Tracy want it to look like?"

"Exactly like the one _we_ just spent the last hour tweaking, Peter." Tracy said. Melissa overrode her by saying.

"Nonsense. We'll just make this one a bit more modest. Make it a full skirt, since this is the 1500's. And lose the ruffles on the sleeve. Raise the neckline a bit- no, more like a lot. No matter how young Tracy is, the Nurse is old enough to be her mother." Melissa drug Tracy away 

so she couldn't interfere and left her in a chair across the room until the new outfit was satisfactory. Remus drifted over to join her a few minutes later.

"They're insane," Tracy said when she saw him.

"Yeah. You know it doesn't look so bad now…"

"I'm sure it's still incredibly inappropriate with both Melissa _and_ Sirius working on it."

"Not quite so much as the first one," Remus assured her with a blush for the memory. "It wouldn't have looked bad on you, though." Tracy gave him a look before saying, "Well, it's not time period appropriate or school appropriate. It's against my sensibilities. And hello? Didn't you see how low that neckline was? Maybe somebody with a bigger chest could pull it off- or keep it on, rather- but not me."

"I understand why you didn't like it."

"_Sure_ you do. You'd probably love to see Lily wear that."

"Lily? What are you talking about?" Tracy averted her eyes, not wanting to go down that path.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Oh, that comment definitely had something behind it. Do you think I like her?" Tracy sighed.

"No. I _know_ you like her." Tracy stood up, "I can see it in the way you look at her. Especially when she's not looking. There's hurt there, Remus. Hurt and love. Maybe it's not obvious to anyone else, but I can see it!" Remus stood there for a moment before pulling the almost crying Tracy into his arms.

"Maybe I _do_ have some feelings for Lily, Tracy. But even if what you say is true, I like you, too."

"More than Lily?" Tracy asked with a bit of scorn in her voice.

"More than Lily," Remus agreed. "More than Lily." Tracy squeezed him around the middle before letting go. A single tear ran down the side of her face, but she was smiling a little. Remus smiled back, brushing the tear off gently. He pressed his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss. Trying to lighten the mood, he grinned.

"Sweet and intelligent, eh?" Remembering her words, Tracy blushed but nodded anyway.

"Yes. And swayed by hormones," she added with a slightly evil grin.

"Hey, I can work on that," he said putting his hands up in defense. But then he pulled Tracy close to him with a grin and said in her ear, "And you can teach me." Tracy pulled away and frowned at him, mock disappointed.

"Remus John Lupin! Who knew you could be so like Sirius?" He stiffened, pretending to be offended.

"Sirius? I'm nothing like Sirius."

"You are when you flirt," Tracy informed him with a smirk.

"Ah… perhaps you're right," he conceded.

"Perhaps I am. Now let's go see what monstrosity they've created for me to wear." Tracy drug Remus over to the rest of the group, trying to distract him from their recent flirting. She was still unsure what all of it meant.

**I can't come up with any original way to ask you what you think or to review, so… Please review?? Hope you liked it. :D**


	18. Question, Answers, and Mystery

**All right, everyone- a new chapter! Sorry x 100 for the long wait, I'll try to be better about it. We finally have some mention of Lily's training! I bet you're all excited now, aren't you? Anyway, on with the story!**

Tracy had just finished dragging Remus over to the rest of the group in the common room as Peter made the final adjustments to her costume.

"Right on time, Trace," Melissa said.

"I noticed. Now let me see it."

"But it really should be a surprise…" Melissa said with a grin, trying to bug her friend. Not surprisingly, it worked.

"The hell it will! Peter, let me see it." Tracy reached for the paper and had removed it from his hands before he could even contemplate pulling away. She glanced at it and was about to start another tirade when she did a double take. The skirt had been let out to the floor, the neckline raised to a modest v-neck. The lace had been reduced to a minimum, with only a little around the cuffs. A simpler and longer apron replaced the useless one that had been drawn before.

"YOU-! It's actually not that bad…" Tracy stared at it a moment longer before handing it to Remus, who had been looking over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you didn't trust us, Tracy," Melissa said, feigning offense.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure it was really hard to believe. Because you're always so trustworthy when it comes to my style of clothing," Tracy said, dipping heavily into her pool of sarcasm.

"Good point. Now let's move onto something else, shall we? We just spent an hour designing an outfit." Sirius was a feeling a bit less manly and greatly wanted to redeem himself.

"You go ahead, Black. I think I'll help Peter with the rest of the costumes," Tracy said, moving to sit by Peter. Sirius shrugged and led Melissa over to a nearby couch. There they started to snog, distracting and very much disturbing Remus, who was trying to finish off an essay.

"Honestly, Padfoot. Take it somewhere else."

"Aw, come on, Mate. Just having a bit of fun."

"Yeah, well, I'm trying to do my work and those strange noises you keep making are breaking my concentration." Sirius rolled his eyes and continued his activities. Remus grumbled and scribbled down the last sentence before packing his stuff up and moving back towards Tracy and Peter where he could work in peace.

*

Lily got the note the next morning from a nervous Hufflepuff first year on the way to her first class.

Miss Evans, that time of month is soon approaching, reminding me of my promise to you. Your parents have consented to your training as have your teachers. Please be at my office at 7:30 tomorrow night for your first lesson.

- Albus Dumbledore

Anticipation tingled up her spine as she read. She was finally going to learn to be an Animagus! She shoved the note towards the bottom of her bag, wanting to keep it a secret until she could surprise the Marauders when she was finally ready. She hurried onto her second class, hiding a smile throughout the day. At lunch, she received another note.

Miss Evans, please report to the Hospital Wing during your free period this afternoon.

Your training shall begin then.

-Mme. Pomfrey

"What is it, Lily?" James asked. The whole table was curious, since they knew Lily wouldn't have gotten in trouble for any reason.

"It's a note from Madame Pomfrey about my healer training in the Hospital Wing." The Marauders exchanged a knowing look.

James said.

"Oh. Must have slipped my mind. Also I didn't know the request had been confirmed until now."

"Glad there's some way you can participate, Evans," Sirius remarked. Lily smiled before returning to her food. She made a point of ignoring the curious looks on Melissa and Tracy's faces, as did the other Marauders. Remus smiled at Lily and felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled back. Looking at Tracy, though, he felt the unusual (for him) sensation of guilt creeping into the back of his mind. He mentally kicked himself and picked at his food, having suddenly lost his appetite. What was wrong with him? Lily was with James, and he could never hurt his best friend. Besides, Lily would never leave James' side. And he did feel a certain something for Tracy…

As Remus' thoughts whirled inside his head, the rest of the table had risen to make their way to their next class.

"Oi! Moony, you coming?" Sirius queried, concerned. Usually James was the one to stare off into space, not Remus.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah. Sorry. A bit preoccupied, is all." Noting his best friend's blush, he brought their heads together as they walked through the doors of the Great Hall.

"I know what you're going through, Mate. Lily's great, we all know that, but so's Tracy. Give her a shot." Remus pulled away and said in less of a whisper,

"I know, Pads. I don't want to like Lily, but I don't know how…"

"S'allright, Mate. Just try things out with Tracy, get to know her a little better. Fall deeper in love." Sirius grinned at seeing Remus' jaw drop and winked. "Can't keep much from me, Moony."

"You sly bastard," Remus said affectionately. Sirius grinned and pushed him away playfully before joining back up with Melissa. Remus tried to make sense of his feelings all the way to their next class.

*

After class was dismissed, Lily left the group to attend her healing lesson. James let her go somewhat reluctantly, not wanting to have her out of his sight.

"Do you have to go?" He asked, pouting a bit. Lily kissed his cheek as she stood.

"Yes. It's the only way I can help. And I _will_ help."

"I know," he said quietly with one last kiss to her forehead. She smiled back at him and hoisted her bag to her shoulder, making her way through the aisles of desks. With one last wave to her friends and a smile for James, Lily turned and left classroom, heading up to the Hospital Wing.

"Ah, Miss Evans, right on time," Madame Pomfrey greeted her as she walked in. "Today I'll give you a basic introduction to the medicines and their uses. We'll also touch on some basic spells."

"That sounds fine. Thank you again for agreeing to teach me."

"It's no trouble at all. I admire your ambition in wanting to help your friends. Besides, I could use an extra hand. Especially since it's 'the Marauders'' last year. Honestly, the mischief those boys cause sometimes…" Lily smiled politely and followed a few steps behind Madame Pomfrey as she walked from bed to bed, straightening sheets and making small talk with the student while they downed the foul potions she measured out for them.

The rest of the period passed by quickly and Lily had to fight the urge to retrieve quill and parchment and start writing everything down. It seemed that each student (there were about fifteen) needed just as many potions, each with a new name and purpose. Though Lily was a bit confused, she felt that she was finally getting something accomplished. In fact, she couldn't wait to move forward with her healer training despite the promise of becoming an Animagus. She was a bit reluctant to leave, feeling that she was making at least some headway and not wanting to quit now. She acquiesced eventually though, and wound her way through hallway after hallway until she reached her Charms class.

The group greeted her warmly, all except Remus, who sat in his seat, staring at his textbook, trying to avoid eye contact with Lily. He couldn't help but feel guilty every time his heart fluttered at the sound of her laughter, or the sight of the warm smile on her face. Finally, he admitted to himself that he was confused and was torn equally between Tracy and Lily, unable to make sense of anything.

*

As the group made their way back to the Common Room after dinner, Remus remembered his earlier talk with Sirius. He hung behind, collecting his thoughts and mentally preparing himself. When he felt ready, he sidled over to Tracy.

"So I was thinking about our conversation last night…" he whispered in her ear. Tracy blushed, remembering how she had flirted and cried, revealing her emotions.

"What about it?" She said, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Remember how I told you I liked you more than Lily?" Tracy nodded. "Well I'm absolutely sure of my feelings now, and I would like to know if you would go with me to Hogsmeade in a few weekends?"

"Oh, Remus. Of course I will!" Tracy pulled him into a tight hug before kissing his cheek. Remus turned red, slightly embarrassed by the display but also very, very pleased. They grinned at each other before jogging to catch up with the rest of the group, hardly noticing that their hands were clasped together until Lily eyed the contact pointedly. Tracy blushed, but did not pull her hand away, pleasing Remus to no end.

"About time, Moony," James said with a smile. Remus nodded and put an arm around Tracy's waist, pulling her to him so he could kiss her cheek. The group continued to the Common Room, where the Gryffindor girls nearly had fits at seeing that the three most wanted boys in Hogwarts had been taken. Sirius shot them a grin, which made them burst into giggles, nearly forgetting their disappointment.

"So Remus, what was the note Lily got at lunch about?"

"She said it was for her healer training."

"Yes, I heard that, but why is she getting it?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he lied. Tracy couldn't know. Not yet, not this early in their relationship. Tracy was about to argue with him, considering that Sirius had commented, but thought better of it, seeing as how touchy Remus was. Throughout the evening, her mind kept wandering to that note. What was Lily keeping from her best friends and why didn't Remus want to talk about it?

**Sorry again for the excruciating wait. I've been writing bits and pieces here and there, so if it's a bit disjointed, I apologize for that as well. Also, there will be more mention of Animagus and healer training, as well as the play. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)**


	19. Foxtails and Secrets

**I'm SOOOOO sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've been super busy with school and the like. Please forgive me!!! D:**

Lily climbed up the spiral stairs with one last look behind her at James. He had insisted on coming with her, despite her best efforts to keep her training secret until she could surprise everyone. She smiled and returned his wave with a last reminder that he wasn't supposed to wait for her.

"I know, I know," he said. Lily grinned and shooed him away.

"Go on then. You'll have plenty of time to be with me afterwards.

"Ah, the wonders of having an entire tower to yourself…" he joked. Lily just shook her head with yet another smile before turning back to the door and knocking.

"Come in, Miss Evans, come in," the Headmaster called from inside. Lily deftly turned the knob and pushed the door open in one swift movement.

"How was your day?"

"Good, thank you, Headmaster."

"Glad to hear it. Now, where shall we begin? Ah… your Animagus Form." Dumbledore rustled through some pages before he found a blank scrap of parchment. He presented this and a quill to her along with a slim book. Lily looked at him curiously.

"If you have an idea of what your form will be, I suspect it'll make things easier. The quiz, so to speak, begins on page four." Lily nodded and opened the book.

_Pick the set of descriptions that is most like you:_

_a) playful, witty, frivolous_

_b) serious, responsible, alert_

_c) smart, observant, confident_

_d) talkative, creative, loving_

Lily thought for a moment before choosing an answer. The quiz consisted of nineteen questions that explored her personality. When she had finally finished, she flipped to the back of the book as instructed and came up with three possible Animagus Forms.

"What does it say, Miss Evans?"

"It says more than one."

"Nothing unusual, go on, please."

"I could either be a doe, fox, or ocelot." Dumbledore nodded to himself.

"Please close your eyes, Miss Evans. I want you to clear your mind of everything but the traits your three animals have in common. When you are perfectly calm, concentrate on your characteristics and try to…fall into one of the three shapes. Understand?" Lily nodded and closed her eyes. Thoughts of tight muscle, cunning wit, sparkling eyes, quick instincts, and soft, shiny fur flitted through her mind. Once her heart had stopped racing at the prospect of joining James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, she gave into the slight pull of magic around her.

A moment later, when she felt a shift in her position, she opened her eyes. She looked down at her hands and sighed. Nothing had happened. Dumbledore was watching, trying to keep an amused sparkle out of his eyes. When she looked up at him, he said, "Perhaps we could try Transfiguration first. You might be better able to transform if you've actually experienced being in animal form." Lily nodded, and took a deep breath as he waved his wand.

She felt a very palpable amount of power coursing through her veins and warming her skin. This time when she opened her eyes and looked down, she was indeed an animal. She carefully tensed each muscle, getting a feel for her new body. She inhaled sharply when she saw herself in the mirror to her right. She was a small fox, with luxurious red hair and stunning emerald green eyes. She looked at Dumbledore, eyes wide and head tilted, incredulous. He replied with a smile and flicked his wand again.

Lily was almost depressed to return to human shape. The sights, smells, and sounds were all dulled in this form and she didn't feel as powerful or strong. She took a few deep breaths.

"Well? What did you think of the transformation?"

"It was amazing!" she breathed. Dumbledore smiled.

"Focus on the feel of being a fox, then, and try again." Lily nodded and closed her eyes. She remembered the thrill of smelling the trees outside and hearing the hoot of an owl from all the way up in the air, far away from it all. She remembered her reflection in the mirror and the readiness of each muscle to act on instinct. She relaxed those muscles and surrendered to the longing she felt to become her Animagus form.

When she opened her eyes and turned to the mirror in eagerness, her heart fell. Nothing had happened. She was so sure she had succeeded and it felt horrible to know that she hadn't. Her shoulders sagged as she snuck a peak at Dumbledore through the corner of her eye. He was smiling in approval. She furrowed her brow and looked again at herself. She was still examining her reflection when something warm and furry swished against her leg. She jumped and looked behind her. When she realized there was a bright red fox tail sticking out of her back, she flushed nearly as red.

"I'd say that's enough progress for today, wouldn't you?" Dumbledore asked. Lily gave a small nod and stood, still blushing with embarrassment. She was about to leave when she remembered the tail. She stopped when the fur brushed her hand. Lily looked up at Dumbledore, who was already casting a silent spell to make the tail disappear.

To her dismay, when she alighted on the bottom stair, she saw James waiting for her. He had been dozing, it seemed, but the quiet patter of her footsteps on the marble stairs must have woken him.

"Hey, Lil'," he said.

"You're supposed to be back at the dorm, not worrying about me," she admonished, smiling lightly. James grinned.

"I did, but I missed your beautiful green eyes."

"Oh, stop. You're very sweet, but you shouldn't be sitting out here past curfew and hurting your neck."

"Aww, you _do_ care…" He joked. Lily smiled.

"Yes, I do. Now get up and let's go." James pulled himself up with the help of Lily's hand and slung an arm around her shoulder.

"So what did the man want?" Lily, who had been resting her head lazily on her shoulder, stood up straight and looked down.

"Oh... he just wanted to talk about… Head stuff."

"So why wasn't I there?" Lily shrugged, thinking hard for an excuse.

"Oh, just stuff about the um, dress code… for the play."

"What'd you tell him?" Lily grinned.

"I told him that Tracy was helping with that and not to worry, she had every improper style dealt with." James laughed and nodded.

"Yeah… that's true. So what took up the other oh...twenty five minutes?" Again, Lily looked down. James was getting a little bit suspicious, but he would let her finish explaining.

"Well… he also wanted to talk to me about… my healer training with Madame Pomfrey."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yes… He said that he'd... gotten a very good report, and that he was… glad I was so eager to help with the whole situation." She looked up at him, waiting for a reaction. He nodded.

"Really? You? Good report?" James joked, trying to forget the slight hesitation he heard and get on with the night. Lily stuck out her tongue and bumped shoulders with him. In a few minutes, they reached the Common Room and caught up with the others. Peter had been half-curled in a chair, sketching down millions of ideas without forgetting them. Sirius and Melissa had miraculously unstuck themselves enough to alternate turns playing chess with Remus.

"How'd the meeting go?" Remus asked, staring at the chess board.

"Yeah, Evans. How long you in for?" Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm not in for anything."

"Really? Then why'd the old man want to talk to you?"  
"He had questions about the play and wanted to tell her how extraordinarily Madame Pomfrey thinks she's doing," James said, hugging her to him proudly. Lily smiled and rested her head on his shoulder a moment before dragging him over to the couch to watch Remus beat Sirius. After a few crashing sounds and a groan from Sirius, Lily switched places with Sirius and reset her side of the board. After around twenty minutes, Lily had cornered Remus' king.

"Check mate," she said.

"You never fail to amaze me, Lily." She blushed and stood.

"Thanks, Remus. Well, it's getting late. How about a quick round of this floor before we head up to bed?" she asked James.

"Sounds good to me." The two said their goodbyes and went to look for any trouble makers. After looking behind every broom cupboard door and suit of armor, the two Heads retired to the Tower.

"So we only caught two couples after all that," Lily said, somewhat sadly.

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"It's not. I just wish I knew, so I could've spent more time alone with you." James smiled and pulled her close to him, kissing her forehead.

"We've got plenty of time for that tomorrow. It _is_ Friday night, after all."

"True. And I'd even go so far to propose we stay up late now, but…"

"But you're tired," he finished for her. She smiled.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you were probably thinking _very_ hard when you played chess with Remus… and you've probably been stressed all day thinking of your meeting with Dumbledore…"

"Another good point, Mr. Potter. Walk me up to bed?" James quirked an eyebrow and gave her a sly grin. Lily just shook her head.

"We've already gone over the fact that I'm tired. And I'm sure you know I would never do that anyway."

"I know, Love, I know. Let's get you up to bed before you fall over." Lily pushed him playfully and started to walk up the stairs. Before she could even get close, though, she felt her feet swept out from under her and squeaked. She looked up at James and smiled. Once they reached the top of the stairs, James kicked open her door and walked over to the bed, laying her down gently. Lily smiled sleepily as he bent down to kiss her lips and pull the sheets up to her chin. James turned to leave, but Lily stopped him.

"James?"

"Yeah, Lils?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Lils. Good night." Lily sighed happily.

"Good night, James." James smiled and shut the door silently behind him.

**So? You like? Did this make up for my horrible not-updating-in-foreverness? I hope so! Please Review!**


	20. Back to Work Maybe

**All right, here's a little snippet to satisfy your craving and my guilt. Sorry for this wait and any more to come.**

The next morning, Lily awoke with the soft, warm touch of the morning sun. She sighed and pushed the covers off, stretching every muscle in her body. She sat up slowly and pulled her feet over the edge of the bed. With another stretch and a wide yawn, Lily stood and walked swiftly to the bathroom before the cold could spread through her body. After a nice, hot shower, she dressed in the first clothes she saw and toweled her hair dry, dragging a comb through her damp red locks.

Only after all this did she glance at the clock- 9:15. She headed downstairs, curling into an armchair with a book to wait out the minutes until James woke up. To her surprise, she didn't see him descend the steps when he entered, instead, she watched him climb through the portrait hole, laden with a tray. Lily smiled.

"Morning, James." He stopped in his tracks, face slightly falling. Then he grinned.

"I should have known you'd be up early even when you're dead tired." Lily smiled and stood.

"Well, if you still want to serve me breakfast in bed, I can oblige." James kissed her cheek.

"What are you waiting for, then? Get up there!" Lily smiled and raced up the stairs to crawl into bed in time to appear as though she was still asleep. She pretended to wake when she felt his weight on the bed.

"Oh, James, you shouldn't have," she said sitting up in bed.

"Maybe not, but I did anyway," he replied, placing the tray carefully in front of her. Lily smiled and pulled him by the neck so she could kiss him. After she had pulled away, she appraised the spread of food before her appreciatively. He really shouldn't have- scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, biscuits, fried ham, and sausage accompanied by butter, jam, and what she suspected to be freshly squeezed orange juice. She picked up a piece of toast and a knife, liberally spreading jam on it. After a few bites, she moved onto the bacon. She opened her mouth to speak, but James shushed her.

"Uh uh- not until you try everything. It's the weekend; you are going to relax for at least part of it, Missy." Lily feigned a scowl, but continued to sample the rest of her breakfast. The next time she looked up at James, it was with raised eyebrows and a questioning look in her eyes. He smiled.

"Go ahead. It's not like I can stop you." Lily grinned.

"No, you can't. Anyway, what I was going to ask you was what do you think we should do with the play next? It seems like we should be doing more than we have." James shrugged.

"I dunno. There's still work to be done on the set pieces, and we should probably do some rehearsal so people don't forget their lines…"

"Like us," Lily put in.

"Yes like us. Oh, and there's also the costumes." She nodded in agreement.

"We could ask Pete if he and his assistant would be up to taking measurements and starting to sew…"

"Yes, we can do that and the rest of it, Lils. But it's 9:30 on a Saturday- no one's going to get up just to work on the play."

"So I might as well eat the breakfast that you so lovingly brought up for me?" She finished for him. James kissed her.

"_Yes._"

*

After Lily had finished her breakfast under James' watchful eye, she set about the task of planning the next few meetings.

"So this afternoon at four, we'll have everyone gather for measurements and then go over a few scenes of Severus' choosing. And Sunday after lunch- what do you think, James? More blocking or scenery?" James let out a breath.

"I think… that you work too hard." Lily frowned a little and whacked his arm playfully.

"Oh, come on. We've got to get this show on the road. Remember that it's already October first. Oh my gosh! I totally forgot about Halloween!" James gave her an exasperated look.

"What?" She asked innocently. James looked at her for a moment, a brilliant plan forming in his mind. Just kidding- he acted totally on impulse.

"Come here," he said. Lily gave him a funny look, but walked the few steps to his chair anyway.

"What?" She repeated. James stood and kissed her, catching her completely off guard. While he did so, he scooped her up in his arms and she squeaked.

"James? What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you calm down and focus on being a _teenager_, not Head Girl."

"But I _am_ Head Girl."

"Yes you are, and I'm Head Boy. But that doesn't mean we're going to work our arses off and let our youth pass us by." By this time, he had reached the portrait hole and was on his way through the many hallways that Hogwarts consisted of.

**See? Told you it was short, didn't I? Even so, please review. :)**


	21. Distractions and Interruptions

**Hey guys! I'm just as glad as you that this chapter is up sooner than the last was. Hope you like it!**

"Honestly, James. Where are you taking me?" They were now in a dark, dusty secret passageway that Lily hadn't known about until now.

"How many times have you asked that now?"

"I don't know. Twenty?"

"And what makes you think I'll tell you now if I haven't the last nineteen times you've asked?"

"Because I'm asking oh-so-very-sweetly?"

"Nice try, love. But you can't make me tell you." Lily sighed and relaxed in his arms as he wound his way through the castle. Finally, after rounding a seventh floor corner, he slowed, only to keep walking back and forth past a stretch of blank wall.

"Oh for goodness sake, James. What are you doing?" He ignored her, still pacing back and forth. Lily opened her mouth to repeat the question when a door appeared out of nowhere. James pushed it open with his foot and entered. If Lily hadn't been rendered speechless at the sudden appearance of a door, she certainly was now, as the door swung open to reveal a beautiful room with a large bank of windows along one wall, with a plush carpet, and a ridiculous amount of pillows.

"What is this room?"

"It's the Room of Requirement: the perfect place to go when you need to distract your beautiful girlfriend from her tendency to throw away her life in favor of working nonstop."

"So… It just pops out of nowhere when you walk by it?"

"Pretty much. As long as you concentrate on what you want."

"…Interesting. I wonder how it works?" James shrugged, then kissed her.

"You're doing that thinking-more-than-feeling-and-enjoying thing again, Lils." She smiled and kissed him back.

"You sure about that?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. Now where would the beautiful maiden like me to put her down?" Lily thought a moment.

"That turquoise pillow looks rather comfortable…"

"Ha! Nice try. You're not going anywhere near where a bookshelf might just appear. How about right… here?" He pretended to drop her, causing her to squeal. He grinned as he instead set her down gently on her feet.

"That was mean."

"No… that was funny," he joked. Lily smacked him playfully, kissing him yet again.

"You are _horrible_."

"Why thank you," James grinned devilishly.

"You are far too handsome for your own good," she said seriously, staring into his eyes.

"Glad you think so," said James just as seriously, equally entranced by Lily as she was by him. They kissed again, this time for much, much longer. Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a _whoosh!_ The two pulled away, the kiss interrupted.

"There you guys- oh… sorry," Sirius said, embarrassed. James glared at Sirius in annoyance.

"What is it, Padfoot?"

"I just wanted to know if we were doing anything about the play today. But I couldn't find you anywhere, and I kind of just… overreacted?" James sighed.

"I guess we can't escape it, huh?" he asked Lily. She smiled and stroked his cheek affectionately.

"Of course we can. Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"You can tell everyone that there'll be a meeting after dinner, and that we'll be working on scenes, but we're not sure which yet."

"Okay. Sorry again."

"Don't worry about it, Sirius," she assured him. After he had left, she turned towards James, who was still irritated. "James? Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Just a bit frustrated, I guess."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah, Lily, I'm fine. I just wish that you and I had time to be together when we didn't have to constantly think about working."

"Well, now we don't have to," she ran her fingers down his chest.

"I guess you're right, Lils." He pulled her into a hug and sat down with her in his lap. They sat there for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence.

"Lily?"

"Yes, James?" She looked up into his eyes.

"I love you," he said so sincerely, it made her blush.

"I know," she replied. "I love you too, James." He smiled and kissed her.

"I know," he said back. Lily wriggled out of his lap and sat up across from James. Suddenly, a mischievous spark found its way into her vivid emerald eyes, startling him.

"What-?" before he could finish, she had pulled him into another of those very passionate kisses. James had to say, he enjoyed that particular interruption much, much more than the last.

*

After a few hours of more kissing than talking, the two Heads left the Room of Requirement in search of the rest of the Marauders. They found the boys in the Common Room. When Sirius saw the couple he grinned.

"Enjoy yourself, Prongs?" James blushed.

"Shut up, Sirius." Lily laughed.

"Okay, you two. Let's not start anything. I want food." Remus smiled and stood.

"I'm hungry too. Let's go." The five made their way down to the Great Hall where they took seats next to Melissa and Tracy.

"So, Lily, have you decided what we're doing tonight?" Lily shook her head.

"I know that Peter and his assistant need to get measurements for the costumes, but other than that, I'm not sure. I'd like to work on some scenes, but that's really up to Severus." Melissa nodded.

"Sounds good. I haven't really thought about my lines at all for a while. It'll be a good wake-up call." Lily smiled.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Melissa. It's these boys I'm worried about. Neither of them can focus on anything for a particularly long amount of time. Except Remus, of course." She grinned at the offended looks on Sirius' and James' faces.

"I thought you loved me, Lily. How _could_ you??" James exclaimed, feigning deep, heart-shattering pain.

"I _do_ love you." James grinned and kissed her.

"Glad to hear it, Love."

"Your attention-span, however," she continued, "is an entirely different story."

**I know it was a little short, and a lot fluffy, but I can almost 100% guarantee that the next chapter will be better! Please review! :)**


	22. Acting, Kissing, and Prank Planning

**Sorry it's been so long, everyone! I've been caught up with school and such and I've only had time and inspiration to write every now and then. Hope you like!\**

After a few hours of doing nothing in the Common Room, Sirius was, as one might expect, bored. He sighed deeply. The others just looked at him. Finally, Remus gave into the expectant look on Sirius' face.

"What, Padfoot?"

"Glad you asked, Moony. I think we should _do_ something."

"Like what?" Sirius shrugged indifferently.

"I dunno. Like go outside, play Exploding Snap, plan a prank on the Slytherins…" he trailed off once he saw he wasn't getting a response. "Oh, come on, guys! I'm bored! And it's the weekend. We should be doing something fun, not just sitting around."

"I agree," Lily said. "We _should_ be doing something fun, especially since we've got to work on the play tonight." Sirius nodded emphatically.

"So what do you think, Evans?" he asked.

"Well…" she mused. "I actually rather like the prank idea, but…"

"But what?" Sirius interrupted. "Just because you're Head Girl doesn't mean you can't break the rules. Actually, it almost makes things easier." Lily rolled her eyes, but James was now quite interested in the idea.

"Yeah, Lils. It'd be great to have you come marauding with us." Lily smiled.

"Oh, okay. I'll come. Tracy? Melissa? What do you think?"

"I'm up for it," Tracy said surprising everyone.

"I guess it'd be fun…" Melissa finally said. Everyone was looking at James and Sirius for their decision.

"I dunno, Mate," Sirius said. "I mean one girl's all right, but three? I think it's asking for trouble." When he noticed Lily staring at him somewhat angrily, however, he quickly explained himself. "It's just that it's going to be such a big group, and with three novices… It's just too risky."

"I see where you're coming from, Sirius," Lily said finally. "But you're forgetting that you'll be working with the Head Boy and Girl, and two Prefects," she added with an evil grin. Tracy returned that grin, being one of the Prefects she had mentioned.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she said excitedly. Remus grinned and pulled her close to him in an admiring hug. All in agreement, the group got to work planning perhaps one of the most elaborate pranks of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly.

*

Everyone was reluctant to leave the Common Room when it was time for dinner, but they rose and stretched nonetheless.

"It's too bad we can't stay longer," Tracy said. "I've got some fantastically wicked ideas." Melissa grinned at her friends' new-found mischievous spirit.

"Who knew _you_ would love breaking rules so much?" Tracy grinned back.

"I don't know… it's a mystery." The girls laughed and joined their respective beaus on the way down to the Great Hall. James hung back with Lily so he could deliver the passionate kiss he had wanted to give her the whole time they were planning.

"What was that for?" Lily asked breathlessly afterwards.

"You don't know how wonderful it is to have a girlfriend as devious and cunning as you, Lily. Or as beautiful and kind and smart and clever and-" before he could finish his sentence, Lily pulled him into another passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, James was looking at her, astounded. Lily smiled and kissed him once more before they followed the others.

"What took you so long, Lily?" Tracy asked as they approached the Gryffindor table.

"I think _I_ know, Tracy," Melissa said with a grin. Lily blushed, but refused to let go of James' hand when they sat down. James was grinning, too, as Sirius gave him a high five.

"_Nice work_, Prongs!" he said. Lily rolled her eyes and continued to serve herself a little of everything on the table.

"Hey, Peter?" she asked, looking down the table.

"Yeah, Lily?"

"Towards the end of dinner, could you find your assistant so she's ready for taking measurements tonight?" Peter swallowed his mouthful.

"Oh, yeah, sure. No problem."

"Thanks," Lily said, turning back to those closer to her. They spent the rest of dinner enjoying themselves and surreptitiously discussing more aspects of the prank.

*

"All right, thank you all for coming," Lily said after everyone had assembled for the meeting. "Tonight, we'll be taking measurements for costumes. We've set up some curtains in each corner for privacy. Boys will get their measurements taken in the corner to my left and girls in the corner to my right. After that's done, we'll continue with other preparations."

With a bit of grumbling, especially from the boys, the actors separated and headed to their respective corners. James gave Lily a quick kiss before he departed for the line on the opposite side of the room. Before Lily followed suit, she pulled Snape aside.

"Severus, what do you want to do after this is all taken care of?"

"I don't know. I guess we can run through a bit of the beginning to refresh people's memory, then go through a couple new scenes. Or we can leave the acting for another time and work on scenery again."

"I think you're right about refreshing people's memory. Let's do that, okay? See you in a bit." Snape shrugged and slunk away into a corner, since the director didn't need a costume. Lily watched him go with a curious expression on her face before shrugging it off and joining the other girls in line.

When all the measurements had been taken and put in a safe place, the curtains put away, and the makeshift stage brought back out, Snape took charge.

"We left off at Capulet's party last time, but since it's been a while, we'll go back over some of the other scenes." Snape paused and leafed through a script. "We'll start off with Act 1 Scene 2. It starts out with Paris asking Lord Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage and ends with Benvolio speaking with Romeo. There's a servant involved, so the six of you decide among yourselves who it'll be. Everyone else back up and take a seat."

As the six servants huddled together briefly, Frank Longbottom and Ludo Bagman climbed on stage while Lewis Macmillan and James stood to one side, reading over their lines. There was a bit of idle chatter as all this happened, but when Snape stepped down off the stage and told them to begin, their words were cut short and everyone turned to watch. After running through that scene and the next, Snape paused practice to converse with Lily.

"We could keep going and do the party scene, or we can skip it and work on the newer scenes and come back to the party scene to teach everyone dance steps," he said. Lily nodded as she took in his words.

"Considering that we don't have any choreography in mind, it's probably best to skip it. Let's move on." Snape muttered something in acknowledgement and stepped back onstage.

"We're going to skip past the party scene and the balcony scene and go to Act 2 Scene 3. That's Friar Laurence, and Romeo. The following scene is Mercutio, Belvolio, the Nurse, and Romeo again. I'll give you a few moments to scan over your lines, but then it's back to work"

After those few moments passed, Snape kept his promise. After going through those two scenes, he forced everyone to plow on, going through the following three scenes before running through all of them twice more. Finally, after a couple of hours had passed, Lily called the meeting to an end, satisfied with the work accomplished, and everyone left the Great Hall in search of their comfortable feather beds.

**So, what are your thoughts? Please review, especially if you have positive feedback and/ or ideas for pranks. ;D Sorry again for the long wait.**


	23. Progress vs Regress

**All right, everyone. I finally got off my lazy bum… well not really… but I did finally manage to finish a chapter. Don't be too mad, please! Hope you like!**

Over the course of the next few weeks, Lily worked hard on the play, her healing lessons with Madame Pomfrey, and, of course, her Animagus training with Headmaster Dumbledore. Though they were making good headway on the play and she was doing very well with her healer training, Lily couldn't help but feel discouraged about the thing that she cared most about.

Despite exceeding Dumbledore's expectations during the first meeting, she was unable to transform any part of herself in the following ones. Perhaps she was distracted with her other plans, pranking included, or perhaps she didn't trust herself. Whatever the reason, it was starting to weigh down on her, and the worst part was that she couldn't share any of it with anyone. So when she received another letter from Dumbledore one morning, she sighed.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Tracy asked.

"Nothing. It's just I've got to see Dumbledore at lunch."

"Again? That's like the sixth time this month. What does he want?" Lily shrugged.

"It's just… Head stuff. You know."

"No… I don't. And neither does James." Lily sighed and tried to assure her concerned friend.

"It's nothing to worry about, Tracy. Really. And I'll fill James in when he needs to know." Tracy looked at her skeptically, but saw that she wouldn't talk about it and let it go.

"All right, fine." Lily looked at her gratefully and smiled.

*

"All right everyone. Settle down, please," Lily said later that day when she entered a Great Hall filled with chattering students. She walked over to the makeshift stage that they had at least set up before fraternizing and climbed up. It took a few minutes of patient waiting and pointed looks at the most garrulous of students, but eventually, they quieted to hear what she had to say.

"Thank you. Now today, I believe Severus wants to work on the party scene. That involves both the acting and the choreography. He's in charge today, people, so pay attention and listen." Lily stepped off the stage to make way for Snape.

"Traditionally, at balls, minstrels played music. And not rock music or jazz or anything like that. So for today, since we don't have instruments, we'll play the music magically. Here's an example of the kind of music they danced to." He flicked his wand and sweet notes filled the air. A few students, not fond of history and old music, groaned. Snape stopped the flow of music and spoke again. "I want no complaints. Now. Miss Alicia Bevallo will demonstrate the dance steps." Snape climbed off the stage and slunk to a shadowy corner to watch the proceedings. Alicia, a sixth-year, quickly and confidently took control.

"I want all the boys on one side of the room and all the girls on the other. The footwork is fairly simple, but when you start throwing in hand movements as well as a swarm of people… well it gets a bit complicated." Alicia drew her wand and waved it, starting a slow stream of music flowing through the air. "Girls will step like this," she said, stepping to the side and turning. "And boys will do the same, but in the other direction, like this." She turned to face the same direction as the boys and performed the steps. "We'll just work on that for now… one, two, three, four, and begin."

She led them through the first few steps slowly, then picked up the pace until they had it down almost perfectly. From there she moved onto the rest of the dance, leading the young actors through complicated twists and turns and partner switches. Once all the footwork was understood, she started from the beginning, adding in the hand movements. Finally, after what had been a little under two hours, she made them run through the entire thing without stopping.

"Excellent," Alicia said when the music had come to a stop in time with the dancers. "Very good progress for the first day. I can't say the next time I'll be here, but keep practicing." Lily thanked her and, after a short discussion with James and Severus, decided that that was enough for the day. Gratefully, the students retired to their respective Common Rooms. Though Lily was tired as well, she had a meeting with the Headmaster. When she started off down a different hallway than James, he turned to her with a slight frown on his face.

"You've got another meeting with Dumbledore? What's this all about, Lily? I know you're Head Girl, but I'm Head Boy and I haven't been to any of them with you." Lily sighed and walked back to James.

"I've been meeting with the Headmaster because… because he's teaching me to become… He's teaching me to become an Animagus, James. Like you." She looked up at him hopefully, wanting his approval. James stared down at her in disbelief.

"You're… what? No… No. Lily you can't-" Lily's eyes widened and she felt a sort of creeping sadness spread through her heart.

"Why not? I want to help, James. This way I can go with you and Sirius and Peter and Remus…" James held up his hand.

"No. It's too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt." The sadness was chased away and replaced by an angry fire that flashed in her eyes.

"Why not? _You_ do it. _Sirius_ does it. Even _Peter_ does it and everyone knows why he's the lowest in the class! I can take care of myself, James! And I'll thank you to remember that. I don't care if you don't want me going, I'll do it because Remus is my _friend_! And friends stick by each other. No matter what. You of all people should know that."

"Lily… I-"

"I don't want to hear it, James. I know you're just trying to protect me, but I. Don't. Need. It." She said the last four words slowly to get her point across and turned on her heel, heading to Dumbledore's office. James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What had he done?

*

"Wow, Prongs, you really messed that one up!" Sirius laughed, a smirk on his face.

"Shut up, Sirius!" James shouted, pacing back and forth.

"Why's it so bad if she comes with us anyway? We could use the help, since Pete hasn't been coming lately." James turned on him and scowled.

"We are _not_ bringing her!"

"What's the problem? She might even do better than us. Remember the first time? Nothing bad happened to her then."

"Yes, but Remus might have been able to recognize her then. He won't when she's an animal." Sirius gave him a look.

"He might. You never know. Don't be so uptight about everything, Mate." Sirius said this last sentence in a teasing manner. Sirius' indifferently cheery good humor grated on James' nerves and he snapped. He lunged towards Sirius and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"I won't put her in that kind of danger, Sirius! I won't!" James shouted, shaking Sirius back and forth.

"What danger? Who? James, why are you grabbing Sirius by his shirtfront?" Remus had just walked in, a curious look suspended on his face.

"Lily's learning how to be an Animagus with Dumbledore to accompany us. But James didn't want her to, and now they're having an argument and now he's all strung out and angry at me for telling him that maybe it's not such a bad idea after all," Sirius informed Remus accurately and succinctly. Remus nodded, mulling it all over.

"She shouldn't come," he said shortly. Sirius gazed at him a bit confusedly, and James released Sirius and shot him a look that said '_I told you so.'_

"Why not, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Because for the last time it's too dangerous!" James said, exasperated. Remus nodded.

"Besides. She's busy enough with the play and all the Head Girl stuff," he added.

"And Prongs isn't?" Remus had to think about that for a moment.

"But he already knows how to be an Animagus and it doesn't take time out of his schedule," Remus said, pleased with his response. But, for a change, Sirius was quick.

"And there won't be time taken out of her schedule once she _does_ learn. And we did it all on our own. She's got Dumbledore to help her!" Finally, James stepped back into the conversation.

"Fine. I'll tell her she can come if she wants to. It's not like I'll be able to stop her anyway." Sirius smiled.

"Good. Glad that's settled. Now why don't we play a nice relaxing game of…"

"Wizard's Chess?" Remus asked. Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"…No, Remus. Just… no. What I meant to say was: why don't we all play a nice relaxing game of… EXPLODING SNAP!!" Remus groaned and picked up a book before leaving the room, opting for silence and intelligent entertainment. James jumped at the chance, but said it would have to wait until he had spoken with Lily and set things straight. So Sirius was left all alone in the dorm room with no company and nothing to do. So he went off on his own. The only decision now was between snogging with a hot girl he barely knew and eating. The two hobbies were very high up on his list of things he liked to do. He thought about it for a minute. Food. Yeah, definitely food.

**So whatcha think? Please review. Sorry again for being slow to update… :D**


	24. Reconciling and Reminiscing

**At last! Another chapter! I hate to break it to ya, but the story's almost over! So enjoy it while you can. ;D Hope you like it!**

She was sitting in the Library, bent over a piece of parchment. It seemed that all of her attention was centered on her work. Not wanting to startle or anger her, James walked over and took a seat. She didn't even glance up. So he tried her name.

"Uhh, Lily?" She either didn't hear him or was ignoring him. He was inclined to think the former, but the latter was also entirely possible. So he tried her name again.

"Lily?" Nothing. He put a hand on her shoulder and repeated her name.

"Lily, are you all right?" Again, no response. James was starting to get a tad bit annoyed. And also a bit concerned. So he said her name again, but louder. The rules of the Library were irrelevant at the moment.

"Lily Evans!" She didn't answer him. "For Merlin's sake! Will you _please_ stop writing and look at me?" Slowly, she obliged.

"What is it, James?" she asked coldly. He swallowed. He had expected anger, maybe, but not this unemotional, cold, impassive, downright _frightening_ attitude.

"I, uh…" He cleared his throat, trying to figure out what he would say. "I wanted to apologize for that scene in the hallway earlier."

"I'm listening," Lily said tonelessly.

"I shouldn't have acted like I did. But rational thought starts to escape you when you find yourself in the clutches of fear and concern. I was scared. I didn't want you to come with us because I didn't want you to get hurt…or worse." Lily met his eyes for a few moments, searching for any ulterior motives. When she was satisfied that he was simply being honest she nodded.

"I understand. But I can take care of myself, James."

"I know that. But you can't blame me for caring, Lils." He looked down at his hands where they rested in his lap, sneaking a peek at her through his eyelashes every now and then while she thought things over.

"You're right. I can't. I'm sorry."

"Me too, Lils."

"I know."

"So…" he started carefully, meeting her eyes hopefully. "Are things between us…?"

"Better than ever," Lily replied, smiling at him. He returned the smile and hugged her. When he started to pull away, she pulled him closer for a few seconds then leaned back to kiss his cheek.

"Come on, let's go," she said with a grin.

"Where?" Lily giggled.

"You'll see." She packed her things hurriedly before taking his hand in hers and leading him out of the Library.

*

"Lily? Where are you taking me?" James asked as he let her pull him behind her, a magical blindfold covering his eyes.

"Stop your whining and wait. We're almost there," she replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. When Lily stopped a few moments later, James registered the scent of grass and flowers.

"Can I take this thing off yet?" Lily smiled, even though he couldn't see it.

"Not yet."

"Well, why not? Aren't we there yet?"

"Of course we are, James," she said. "I just wanted to do this…" James stood where he was, completely unaware, wondering what she was doing. That is, until he felt a soft pair of lips press gently against his own for a brief moment. After blinking a few times, he could see again. Lily stood in front of him, a blush creeping across her cheeks. The mischievous twinkle in her eyes teasing. After James looked around curiously for a moment, Lily asked quietly, "Don't you know where we are?"

"Under a tree?" James asked, not understanding what she was getting at. Lily looked down at her toes, embarrassed. Obviously he didn't remember.

"This is where we first met, James." Realization smacked him in the head. Or maybe it was him. Either way, he felt like a total dolt as the memories came slowly flooding back.

"Lils, I'm so sorry. It was just… So long ago. And I was preoccupied with other things and I-I- I'm so sorry. I know how much this must mean to you…" Lily smiled.

"Don't worry about it."

"But Lily, I-"

"James. Be quiet. It's all right. I understand, considering what you had just gone through…"

"I'll make it up to you somehow. I swear!" He told her passionately. There was no excuse for him to forget what was probably the most important moment of his life. Well, okay. That's exaggerating. But only a bit. Lily laughed.

"James, you don't have to do that."

"But I want to. I can't believe I forgot…" Lily silenced him with a finger over his lips. She quickly followed up with a kiss that made James forget his train of thought.

*

As Sirius looked out the window of his dorm room, watching Lily and James' discussion, Remus came up next to him to see what had him so transfixed.

"You know that's where they met, right?" Remus asked. Sirius glanced at him.

"Yeah. I bet you anything that Prongs didn't remember it one bit, though."

"Probably. But you and I remember it well, don't we?"

"Well, yeah. Considering that if it weren't for us he wouldn't have stumbled upon her there anyways."

"Stumbled is definitely the right word for it," Remus said wryly. Sirius grinned.

"Of course. We were pretty heartless then, weren't we?" he asked.

"You could look at it that way. Or you could say the opposite," Remus replied, ever-logical. Sirius shrugged, considering.

"I guess. I mean if Prongs hadn't told us he liked her, we wouldn't have ever done anything to make them meet."

"But we did. And now look at them." Remus gestured towards the couple underneath the tree, embracing. Sirius closed the curtains with a satisfied smile.

"I knew it had to happen someday. Even if we did tease him mercilessly about it."

"Look at us," Remus said abruptly. "We sound like two old ladies talking about our grandchildren or something." Sirius reddened.

"Thanks for that, Moony. I really like being compared to the elderly."

"Well of course, Padfoot. Otherwise I never would have done it," Remus told him, equally sarcastic. Sirius shook his head and walked across the room to flop on his bed.  
"They really suit each other though," he said as an afterthought.

"No wonder Dumbledore decided to make them both Heads."

"I wonder how much he knows sometimes," Sirius said in agreement.

*

"James! I did it!" Lily cried happily as she stepped down from the spiral staircase leading up to Dumbledore's office. James stood up from his spot on the floor, stretching.

"Really? That's great, Lils!" He hugged her close, never wanting to let go. Lily stepped back, nodding vigorously.

"Yeah! And now I can come with you the next time." James' happy smile shrank slightly, but he knew he could never be too protective of such a free spirit.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told her honestly. "And then after that, we've got to really crack down on our fellow thespians if we ever want to finish this play."

"I know. Things have just been so…"

"Crazy," James finished for her.

"Yes. Crazy." Lily agreed. "Absolutely crazy." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. James deepened the kiss and the two stood there for a few more moments before Lily reluctantly pulled away and grabbed his hand.

"Come on. We'll be late for supper." James laughed, and the two of them ran hand in hand to the Great Hall.

**So? Thoughts? Criticism? Anything, anything at all? Please review. And that includes those of you who simply add me to your alert lists instead of giving feedback… *wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more* By the way, have any of you realized that it's been a year since I started this story? Amazing, that...  
**


	25. Playing and Playacting

**Whoo-hoo!!! It's another chapter! And number 25 at that. Sorry it's been so long, hope you enjoy it nonetheless.**

"Okay, people. That's a wrap," Snape announced as the scene closed. Immediately, everyone hopped down off the table-turned-stage and looked at him expectantly. After a few more months working on the play, they had developed a routine of sorts: they would meet, Snape would tell them what they were working on that day, they would work on it, then Snape and Lily would wrap things up.

"Everything still needs a little work, especially the delivering of lines," he started to say, receiving quite a few grumbles from the students. "But that's to be expected when dealing with the awkward Shakespearean language. Nothing that a bit more practice can't fix," he told them with a smile, stepping aside so Lily could take over.

"Things are going terrifically, everyone. Thank you so much for all your hard work the past few months. After a few more costume fittings, lessons with Alicia, and hours working on the sets, we'll be ready to put it all together! We've all worked so hard on this and I'm sure you're all just as glad as I am to see it all coming together. So rest up and we'll work more on this tomorrow. Great job, everybody." After the tables had been returned to their proper positions and the few props that they had begun working with were put away, the Marauders, Lily, and her friends went up to the common room to relax.

"That rehearsal was so long…" complained Melissa.

"Yeah," said Alice, "but it was worth it- we have to work hard if we want everything to be perfect before the end of the year." The girls sighed in unison.

"Stop that," Lily chided them from across the fireplace they sat around. "Before you know it, it'll be over, and you'll want to go back to rehearsing and set painting and dancing. None of us will know what to do with ourselves once the work is done."

"I'm sure I could come up with a few ideas," joked James as he leaned in to kiss Lily's cheek. She batted him away playfully, blushing.

"Let's get there first, James."

"Oh, I have absolute faith in you, Lilykins. And I can't wait 'till I've got you all to myself." Lily said nothing, ignoring both James and the heat the persisted to tint her cheeks. Instead, she looked out the window, catching sight of the almost full moon.

"James?" she asked.

"Yes, darling?"

"When's the full moon?" James looked at her, a bit confused. Then realization hit him.

"Oh… Um that's this Friday isn't it?" Lily nodded, glancing over at Remus, who sat next to Alice, helping her with Ancient Runes homework.

"What are we going to do about that get-together we planned? I mean, Alice and Melissa don't know…"

"Know what?" asked Melissa, curious. Lily searched frantically for a response.

"That we're… planning something completely amazing for our group date on Friday!" she said hastily. Melissa raised her eyebrows, considering Lily's words.

"Well then, I'll let myself be surprised. And I won't tell Alice, either." She winked at Lily, who smiled back. Once Melissa had returned to murmuring sweet nothings into Sirius' ear from her place in his lap, Lily looked at James worriedly. He smiled and kissed her gently, silently telling her that they would come up with something later. For now, they were going to enjoy themselves.

*

Two days later, Wednesday night after practice, James and Lily had retired to the Head Tower to wind down. Since Snape had asked everyone to further assess their characters, Lily sat curled up next to James on the sofa as they went through their scripts, picking out lines that gave Romeo and Juliet a bit more background.

"What do you think Romeo means when he says 'Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears: What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet'?" asked Lily. James shrugged.

"He's saying that love isn't clear- that it can hurt as well as heal."

"So what do you think that says about him?"

"Well he's in love with Rosaline, but she doesn't love him. So he's upset." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well, yes. Anyone who read the script would know that much." She thought a minute. "So at first he loves Rosaline, who doesn't love him and has sworn to be a nun. Then he suddenly falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet, who his family hates. What does that say about who he is?"

"He's extremely fickle?"

"And…?"

"What? I don't know… Wait. He falls madly in love with two girls he can't have. So he wants pretty things that are forbidden to him?" Lily grinned.

"See? You can do this. Give me one of Juliet's lines."

"All right…" James flipped through the script to the party scene. "What about, 'You kiss by the book'?"

"James! You know as well as I do that it could mean two different things, and nobody today knows which. Juliet could either be complimenting him or telling him he can't kiss very well."

"Which do you think it is?"

"I wouldn't know. I mean, Juliet's only fourteen- I doubt she would have much experience with kissing, so she wouldn't have anything else to compare it to."

"But _you_, Lily my dear, _you_ _do_ have something to compare Romeo's kisses to." He leaned in, demonstrating. Lily smiled.

"I do. And I must say, you kiss very well, James."

"Well there you have it! Juliet is complimenting Romeo."

"Not necessarily. I mean, Lily Evans is not the same person as Juliet Capulet. Even if I _am_ playing the part."

"Well, Lily Evans has to decide whether her character is being kind or teasing."

"You're right. Well… I guess since she fell in love and agreed to marry him pretty quickly, Romeo's kiss wasn't half bad," she said with a smile.

"Now that we've got that sorted out… Why do you think they _did_ marry after just a few days? Especially since they knew their parents wouldn't approve."

"Maybe that's exactly why. Juliet for certain felt suffocated by her mother's intentions to marry her off to Paris. And Romeo complained about the fighting between Montagues and Capulets in the very first scene." Lily stood and walked few feet away, thinking. "Maybe they just wanted to prove to their parents that things didn't have to be the way they were. And it's possible that they really did have feelings for each other and marriage was just an added bonus."

"That was a very… in-depth interpretation." James said, nodding. "But do you really think they didn't just marry because they loved each other?" Lily laughed.

"Love? They couldn't possibly have _loved_ each other."

"Why not?" Lily turned to look at him.

"Because! You have to actually _know_ somebody before you can _love_ them."

"…Do you know me, Lily?"

"What? Of course I know you James." Lily came back over to sit down next to him. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"But it's only been a few months since you actually started talking to me like a normal human being."

"And how many of the students that spoke to you starting the very first day of first year know that you and the other Marauders are Animagi? I mean, that's a pretty big secret."

"Yeah, you're right. But do you know my favorite color?"

"Green."

"Favorite…food?"

"You haven't got one. Unless Chocolate Frogs count."

"All right. You win."

"Not until you tell me _my_ favorite color and food."

"Your favorite color is orange and you like watermelon."

"See? We know each other."

"Indeed we do. But I loved you long before I knew you liked watermelon."

"But that's because you knew who I was. You spent years in the same room with me, learning the same things as me at the same time. You knew who I was friends with and what I liked and didn't like about other people. And I knew all the same things about you. There were definitely misconceptions on both sides, but that all got righted once we spent more times together. I for one didn't love you until you made me realize you had grown up."

"But that was before you knew I liked green."

"Oh really? Well, you fell in love with a girl with green eyes and who wore green half the time. It wasn't hard to guess," Lily said, teasing him. James smiled and hugged her.

"I love you, Lily."

"I love you, too, James."

"I suppose we should get back to work, shouldn't we?" he asked. Lily nodded and snuggled into the crook of his arm once more.

**Soooooo? Whatcha think? Constructive criticism is gratefully accepted. Sorry again that it took so long. And I apologize for the lack of activity in this chapter as well. Unfortunately, I think this story will be drawing to a close after a few more chapters. :'( But until then, you can still enjoy it, right? Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. If not, you can all yell at me. Oh, and if there are any specific elements you would like to see more of (besides preparing for the play, cuz I'll definitely do that), please let me know. Wow, that was a really long author's note. So I'll let ya go. ;D**


	26. Pranks Fulfilled

**I told you I'd update soon! Unfortunately, I can't say whether the same will be true for the next chapter. But in the mean time, this is a bit longer to hold you over. Enjoy!**

"All right. So Remus and Tracy will take care of the owls, Alice will set off the dungbombs in the hallways, Peter will distract McGonagall, Sirius and Melissa will take care of the desks, and James and I will have a nice chat with the house elves."

The eight students sat in a secluded corner of the library, watching as Lily pointed out each of the areas in which various aspects of their prank would take place. Adrenaline was coursing through everyone's veins, along with a considerable amount of nervousness, especially when it came to Peter, Alice, and Melissa. Tracy and Lily, while new to the pranking game, were charged with energy and eagerness, as were Sirius and James. Remus, on the other hand, exuded an air of indifferent calmness.

"So are we all ready?" James asked. He was answered with silent nods.

"Okay then, let's set the protective charms so we don't all pass out when the dungbombs go off." Lily waved her wand, quietly whispering the spell. A thin cloud of pale dust that would act as both a perfume and a shield to alleviate the severity of the stench settled over the group.

"Let's go," Sirius said. Everyone exchanged excited grins as they left the library to take their various positions. When sufficient time had passed for everyone to be in place, Lily activated her spell that would give the illusion of someone whispering "Go!" in the ear of each group member. At that exact moment, Remus and Tracy entered the Owlery, James tickled the pear in the painting at the entrance to the kitchens, and Peter banged loudly on McGonagall's office door. A few minutes later, when Professor McGonagall had been lured to one of the sixth floor lavatories, James and Lily outlined their plan to the house elves, who willingly complied. Sirius and Melissa emerged from their hiding place in McGonagall's classroom and got to work at the same moment that Alice set off the dungbombs.

Ten minutes after that, all eight students reconvened in the Gryffindor Common Room, their hearts pounding and blood racing. After a while, once everyone's nerves had settled a bit, they said their good nights and retired to their respective dormitories for a few hours of sleep before the final stage of their prank would begin.

*

With a yawn, Lily blinked at the early morning sun streaming through the window and into her eyes. A lazy grin spread across her face as she stretched. Soon Professor McGonagall would be prowling the halls, shouting out the names of various students on whom she would inflict her wrath. Lily got out of bed and stepped into the bathroom to shower. After she was dressed, she opened her bedroom door and knocked on the door across the hall.

"Morning, Lily," James said as he opened the door cheerily.

"Good morning, James. Are you ready for the festivities to begin?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Lily grinned up at him as he put his arm around her shoulder and they made their way down the steps. They took a detour after leaving the Head Tower, intending to rouse the Marauders, Alice, Melissa, and Tracy so they could all view the results of their pranking together.

When they got there, however, they were all awake, sitting in the otherwise vacant Common Room. They looked up at James and Lily with evil little glimmers in all of their eyes.

"This is going to be downright brilliant," announced Tracy in an excited whisper. Everyone else nodded.

"Well, don't just sit there- let's go down to the kitchens for a quick bite," James suggested. Nods and smiles soon followed, and the group left the Common Room chatting happily.

*

"Goodness!" screeched a voice throughout one of Hogwarts' many hallways. Professor McGonagall was breathing heavily, a hand fluttering at her chest. The shocking hot pink of her classroom walls had sent her into a bout of ragged breaths and half-formed exclamations.

"Who could have-! Well I never-!" A mass of red hair flamed on the other side of the door.

"Is everything all right Profe- Oh my…" said Lily, trailing off.

"Oh, Miss Evans." McGonagall took a few deep breaths and composed herself. "Good morning."

"What happened?" asked Lily innocently.

"Some hooligan seems to have painted my room _pink_! It's horrendous."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"I have no idea." Professor McGonagall sighed, and placed a hand on one of the desks, leaning on it for support. At her slightest touch, it fell to pieces. McGonagall stumbled a bit, but righted herself. "Do you smell that?" she asked, stepping into the hallway. She sniffed repeatedly.

"Smell what?" Lily plastered an appropriately quizzical look on her face.

"It smells like- but that's impossible… I must be confused." At that moment, the hoot of an owl pierced the momentary silence of the hallways. A golden-and-brown eagle owl with almost glowing orange eyes swooped down the hall and emptied its bowels right at the Professor's feet.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" McGonagall asked, seemingly to herself.

"I don't know. Things do seem rather strange. Maybe things will quiet down after breakfast..." Lily mused. McGonagall nodded.

"You're probably right." McGonagall adjusted her robes and started to walk down to the Great Hall. When she got there, though, the place was in uproar. Students ran around, bumping into each other and screaming. Bugs crawled all over the floor and tables. There wasn't a single scrap of food in sight. But that's because there never was any to begin with.

"Oh for-" McGonagall started. "What did I do to deserve this…" She held her wand in the air, thinking of a spell that caused a high-pitched whistling sound to emerge from every corner in the room. The students stopped in their tracks and looked in her direction sheepishly. With another wave of her wand, McGonagall made all of the beetles, caterpillars, and spiders disappear from the room. She looked about the room for anyone who could be the culprit, but all of her usual suspects were gone. Which meant that they had probably escaped the scene of the crime before she arrived. With a sigh, McGonagall told everyone to sit down and wait while she went to the kitchens to ask the house elves to send up some fresh food. Then she spun on her heel and promptly left to run her errand.

*

When she entered her classroom an hour later, all of her students were waiting for her to arrive, but no one had taken their seats.

"Well, what are you all standing about for? Sit down."

"The desks are broken," stated a nervous Hufflepuff. McGonagall looked around the room. The desk she had broken earlier that morning still lay in a heap upon the floor, as did two others. Someone was clearly out to make her day a misery. Wasn't it bad enough that Peter Pettigrew had woken her in the wee hours of the night? She heaved what seemed like her twentieth sigh that day and repaired the broken desks, along with those that appeared fine, but really were on the verge of disintegrating.

"Please take your seats. And don't ask about the color of the walls." A quiet murmur spread through the crowd of the students as they obeyed her command. Looking around the room, McGonagall smiled. All of the Marauders were in her class.

"Take out your books and start reading Chapter 18. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew. In my office." When the four boys just looked at her, she added, "Now." They scrambled out of their chairs and followed her into her office.

"Something wrong, Professor?" James asked once the door was closed and they had each taken one of McGonagall's requisite biscuits out of the tartan tin. She simply raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to suggest once more that they had done nothing wrong.

"Would you like to explain the state of things both in my classroom and around the rest of the school, Mister Potter?" James shrugged.

"It seems all right to me. Though there were a few stray owls and bugs roaming the halls. And some kind of strange smell."

"My point exactly. That, as well as the dilapidated desks and bright pink walls in my classroom. So I'll ask you once more and once more only. Would you like to explain?"

"I'm sure that if I could, I would, Professor."

"And why can't you? It's not like you haven't performed similar shenanigans in the past."

"Why would the Head Boy paint his favorite teacher's classroom walls fuchsia, Professor?"

"Stop with the flattery, Potter. If you won't answer that question, perhaps you can tell me why Mister Pettigrew is sweating so profusely and breathing so heavily." James looked back over his shoulder at Peter, who was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you the reason for that, either, Professor."

"Can't or won't, Potter?"

"Can't. Because I don't know the reason behind it. Professor." James, while maintaining the proper amount of respect, also kept his voice smooth and calm. He was an accomplished liar and had been for many years. McGonagall stared at him without expression for quite some time before she gave a shorter version of that look to each of the others in turn. Not getting any response or sign of guilt, she frowned.

"Very well. You will each serve one detention this Saturday at ten in the morning sharp."

"What have we done wrong, Professor?" James asked innocently.

"Your pranks have succeeded, but not your lies. I'm not so gullible as you think Mister Potter. Not after six years of watching you make excuses. You will attend detention at the appointed time."

"But Professor, there's a Quidditch match then." McGonagall looked at Sirius, who had spoken for the first time since he had entered the office.

"Well then, Mister Black, perhaps you can think of some way to redeem yourself before that time. You are dismissed." The boys turned and filed out of her office in sullen silence. James sat back down next to Lily and whispered what had happened in McGonagall's office. Lily frowned and closed her textbook, standing up.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"I have a confession to make." McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"It's not just the boys' fault. I helped them." The rest of the class gasped and James looked at her, shaking his head frantically. Lily ignored him.

"Well then, Miss Evans, you can join the boys in their Saturday morning detention."

"Yes, Professor." Melissa, Tracy, and Alice exchanged looks and stood, too.

"Professor McGonagall?" said Tracy. "We helped too." McGonagall gave the three girls a stony look.

"I am very disappointed. Both Head students and both Gryffindor Prefects taking part in pranks! As well as other top students. Never before have I seen such good students become such absolute troublemakers. Boys, Evans. You are excused from your Saturday detention. But you and the others will attend detention every Tuesday and Thursday night for three months."

"Yes, Professor," chorused the girls.

"In addition, you will each have a word with Headmaster Dumbledore individually. You will receive notices of these meetings and you _will_ attend."

"Yes, Professor." This time, all eight of them answered.

"Very well. Return to your reading. In addition, you will each read Chapter 19 and return tomorrow with a four hundred word essay on its contents." Without a word, the students nodded and took their seats.

"Times are indeed strange when some of my best students feel the need to execute such childish pranks," McGonagall muttered under her breath.

**So? Tell me what you think. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome. :D**


	27. Improvising Kisses

**Terribly sorry it's taken so long to update. I hope this'll make it up to you all.**

Lily whirled around in her chair as yet another scrap of parchment hit her in the back of the head.

"For Merlin's sake, James!" she hissed under her breath. "Will you give it a rest!"

"But my darling Lilykins, I want to speak to you!" James whispered back, a hopeful look in his eyes. Lily just shook her head and turned back around to finish penning the lines McGonagall had set them to copy during their Tuesday-night detention. Lily's hand cramped just thinking the words "I will not play pranks or defile school property". She stood firmly in her belief, however, that the prank was worth it. That exhilarating rush of adrenaline and the dangerous feeling of almost getting caught were truly thrilling. She now understood why the Marauders found such amusement in, well… marauding. With a sigh, she dipped her quill in the inkpot to her right and began her sixty-sixth line. Only one hundred and thirty-four to go.

"Lilyyy!"

"What is it, James!"

"I want to talk with you!"

"Can't it wait another thirty minutes? Then we can talk all we want. Besides, McGonagall should be back from the lavatory any minute now."

"Please?" Lily sighed, but put her quill down anyway and stood, stretching out her stiff muscles as she walked back to where James was sitting. Sirius and Melissa looked up from their worked and waved. Lily waved back. Remus' and Tracy's heads were bent over their parchment as they scribbled furiously. Lily rolled her eyes and continued walking. When she reached James' desk, he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"What do you want, James dear?"

"You look beautiful when the candlelight radiates off of your hair, spilling golden light over your lovely face."

"As much as I appreciated the compliment, James, was it really necessary to drag me all the way over here to tell me that?"

"Not really. But it was necessary to do this…" He ran his fingers gently down her cheek, taking hold of her chin and guiding her mouth to his in a slow, sweet kiss. Lily smiled as her lips met his and she ran her fingers through his thick brown locks. Two seconds later, the door flew open and Lily jumped off of James' lap, standing next to his desk, hands clasped guiltily behind her back. McGonagall seemed preoccupied, however, and Lily quickly moved back to her seat and resumed her writing.

"You are dismissed," McGonagall informed the group in a short, clipped tone. Everyone looked up in consternation.

"What are you waiting for? I should think most young people would jump at the chance to skip the end of a detention." Sirius was the first to stand, methodically working the kinks out of his writing hand. Slowly, everyone else got to their feet and left the room in a single file line, casting quick glances over their shoulders to see if McGonagall was serious. When they saw that McGonagall wasn't even looking in their direction, they sped up, practically running through the halls as they made their way back to the dorm.

After blurting out the password, the group collapsed on the multitude of chairs and couches in the Common Room, breathing heavily and giggling at the same time. James pulled Lily into his lap and kissed her happily. Sirius did the same with Melissa, Remus following suit a little hesitantly with Tracy.

"Ah, that was grand, Mate!" Sirius announced to James.

"You're right about that, Pads. I never knew detention could be so fun."

"I know!" Melissa stated.

"I wonder what McGonagall was so worried about…" Tracy mused. Sirius just shrugged, but everyone else immediately sobered. It took a lot to worry McGonagall to the point where she would release students from their punishment early. After a few minutes of silence, Sirius piped up.

"Why should we worry about it? Most likely she's just upset because old Dumbles finally realized what a witch she is and dumped her." Tracy laughed.

"They couldn't possibly be dating!" Melissa exclaimed.

"Of course they could," replied Sirius with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Haven't you noticed that they always sit next to each other at supper?"

"Never mind that she's Head of Gryffindor _and_ Assistant Headmaster," Lily put in with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

"Yes, but _why_ was she granted those privileges?" Sirius asked.

"Because she doesn't take any of your crap, Black," Lily said.

"Fair enough," admitted Sirius. "But that doesn't mean she's not dating Old Dumbleydwarf." Lily laughed.

"How many nicknames do you have for him?"

"You'd be surprised," James said with a grin.

"Instead of talking about school, why don't we have a bit of fun before you two have to leave?" suggested Tracy.

"I'm good with it," Sirius said, mischief glinting in his eyes. "What did you have in mind?"

*

Lily and James stood atop the makeshift stage in the middle of the Great Hall, running through a scene in the few minutes before the rest of the cast arrived.

"The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" James professed passionately as Romeo would have when he stood in the Capulet's orchard, staring up at his Juliet.

"Ay me!" Lily put a hand above her heart and bit her bottom lip, the picture of a young girl both pleased and afraid at the surprise that stood beneath her balcony window.

"She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air." James bent down on one knee, hands held out in front of him, begging for another sound of Juliet's musical voice.

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." Lily reached down, holding her hand out to James. Instead of speaking the next line, James took her hand in his and stood.

"Your request I accept, for your beauty brings a pleasant warmth to my heart, and I shan't survive another day without your lovely image by my side. Come, sweet Juliet, and show me once more how soft are thine rosy lips!" James pulled Lily to him and kissed her softly. Lily, whose cheeks were now on fire, kissed him back, completely forgetting about the play and her lines, focusing only on James and the strong arms holding her lovingly.

Just then, someone started to clap. James and Lily jumped apart, embarrassed.

"While I can't say your lines were entirely accurate, your performance was certainly entertaining. Though I suppose not all of it was an act."

"Professor! We didn't hear you come in," Lily exclaimed, her face even redder than before.

"I have no doubt about that. Nonetheless, I have great faith that this play of yours will indeed be a treat."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Lily said, glancing up at James, wondering why he hadn't said a word.

"The compliment is fairly given. No thanks are needed. Well done, Mister Potter, Miss Evans. I must be going."

"Good night, Professor." Dumbledore nodded at Lily, smiling knowingly.

"Good night." After he had left, Lily turned to James.

"Why didn't you say anything?" James shrugged.

"He caught me off guard."

"But you've always got something to say… You were _embarrassed_, weren't you?"

"'Course not," He said, scuffing his shoe across the tabletop Lily smiled and brushed a lock of hair out of his face as she leaned in to place a tender kiss on his lips.

"Right. Of course you weren't. But I still love you."

"I love you, too, Lily." He kissed her once more before straightening up to greet the mass of students that was coming in through the door.

"Let's get started."

**Well, I have to admit, that was a bit fluffy. But fluff is better than nothing, right? Hope you enjoyed it. Please review! ;D**


	28. Dressing Up and Pulling Pranks

**Haha- I wrote this chapter in maybe two hours… So it's bound to be fluffy. But at least it will keep the story alive, right? Hope you like. :)**

"Cut! Is it just me, or does everyone seem totally unenergetic today?" Snape's question was met with a series of half-mumbled mutterings, which was answer enough for him. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

"All right. We'll run through this scene twice more, with enthusiasm. Then, we'll end for the day. How does that sound?" Again, the actors murmured, although they sounded slightly happier. Snape nodded once, thinking.

"Oh, okay! After today, practices are cancelled for the rest of the week. We all deserve a break." This time, he received cheers and whoops. "However," he continued once things had quieted down, "the costumes still need to be put together, so I will have a word with Peter and his assistant and we'll post schedules for your fittings. And since you won't have practice, you should have no trouble making these appointments. Also, you should have no trouble running through your lines once or twice over the break so that when you _return_, we can get right to work. Is everyone in agreement about these arrangements?" More clapping and cheering reached his ears. He smiled.

"Well then. Black, Potter, take it away. Act One: Scene Four… Action!" Much to Snape's pleasure, the boys jumped into their roles with much greater enthusiasm. James played the depressed, love-struck youth to a T, and Sirius' madcap Queen Mab speech was flawless. When the scene ended, Snape smiled.

"Great job. I don't think we really need to see that again, provided you bring that same energy to the next practice. And since we don't need to do that again, I think we can all get through one more quick scene, right? How about Act Four: Scene Three? I need Lily, Alice, and Tracy." The two girls made their way up to the stage and Lily scrounged up a small vial to use for her death scene.

"Is everyone ready? Great. And, Action!"

"Ay, those attires are best: but, gentle nurse, I pray thee, leave me to my self to-night, For I have need of many orisons To move the heavens to smile upon my state, Which, well thou know'st, is cross, and full of sin." Lily delivered Juliet's lines with tranquility, showing Juliet's acceptance of what she was about to do.

"What, are you busy, ho? need you my help?" asked Alice as Lady Capulet.

"No, madam; we have cull'd such necessaries As are behoveful for our state to-morrow: So please you, let me now be left alone, And let the nurse this night sit up with you; For, I am sure, you have your hands full all, In this so sudden business," Lily replied. The rest of the scene ran smoothly, and once it was finished, Snape was quite pleased with himself at reviving his cast. As for the cast, they were pleased at the prospect of being able to relax for the next week without having to worry about anything except one quick fitting appointment.

"Ouch, Peter! Just because I'm standing here like a mannequin doesn't mean that I don't feel it when you stick me with pins!" James resisted the urge to smack the back of Peter's head in his frustration because, frankly, that would probably just result in another pinprick. He stood stock still, hoping that his fitting would end soon so he could go back to the Common Room and recommence his lazing about in front of the fire with a bottle of butterbeer in one hand and a pile of Honeydukes candy in his lap.

Finally, after countless other small stabs to his legs, Peter was finished. Carefully, James wiggled out of the doublet and ruffly shirt carefully, trying not to stab himself with anymore pins. He did the same with the trousers, and then began to get dressed.

"How much longer are you here for today, Wormtail?"

"The only fitting I have left to do is Sirius'. But Brittany, my assistant has two more fittings to do today- Lily's and Melissa's."

"All right then. I'll stick around, I guess. Make sure Padfoot doesn't try to sneak any peeks of the girls while they're changing. Then, when you've finished with Pads' costumes, the three of us can go join Moony and enjoy our break, yeah?"

"Yeah sounds good." James left Peter to his work and sat on a bench in the Great Hall, where he could easily keep an eye on Sirius when he came in to make sure that he didn't try to look behind the partition to the girls' fitting room. Before he saw Sirius, however, he saw Lily. He stood and went over to hug her.

"Where've you been all morning, Miss?" Lily smiled.

"I slept in, then ran down to the kitchens for a bite to eat, and now I'm here. And I'm going to be late if I stay here talking to you."

"Fine, fine," James held up his hands. "Go on. Can't have you being late for anything."

"Oh, hush." Lily stuck out her tongue and grinned. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

"It shouldn't, provided Brittany doesn't take too much time poking you with those evil pins." Lily laughed, smiling.

"I'll see you later, then?"

"Definitely." James' eyes followed Lily as she lifted the flap of fabric that covered the entrance to the girls' side of the Great Hall-turned-fitting-room. He smiled to himself and then returned to his seat, content with the course of the day.

"Oh, Lily! You're here. Great. So… right now, Peter and I have made the first three of your costumes, so we'll have to schedule another fitting for you later this week, maybe. I hope that's not a problem."

"No, that's fine. What's your name again? Peter told me, but it slipped my mind what with all the Shakespearean I've had to cram into my head…"

"Not a problem. I'm Brittany. I'm a third year Hufflepuff. Although you could tell the Hufflepuff part from my uniform and whatnot… I'm babbling aren't I?" Lily smiled kindly.

"Yes, but don't worry about it. Everyone babbles sometimes. So, which one of these am I trying on first?"

"Oh, the party gown first, please, since it'll take the most work. Then we'll do the nightgown- which shouldn't take long at all… And then we'll do the other dress that you'll wear for the wedding… Oh, I'm doing it again. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I really don't mind. Just let me slip into this gown, and we can get to work." Lily stripped down to her underwear and was in the process of stepping into the gown when she screamed.

"Sirius! What the bloody hell are you doing looking in here!" She quickly pulled the dress up the rest of the way and Brittany scrambled over to button up the back of it. Lily glanced at her in thanks and then promptly turned her attention back to Sirius, whose face had suddenly turned pale. However, there was still a trace of wicked grin at the corner of his mouth, which only served to fuel Lily's anger more.

"Sirius," she started quietly, but still putting all of her anger behind that one word. "I suggest that you leave this tent, take care of your fitting, and then run like hell, because as soon as I'm finished here, I'm coming after you." Sirius' face turned even whiter and the mischief in his eyes had disappeared. "Doesn't that sound nice?" Lily asked sweetly, but with malice in her eyes. Sirius shook his head quickly and then left the tent, fully intent on following Lily's instructions. Especially the running bit. Of course, that intention was fortified when he turned around and saw James standing in front of him, arms crossed sternly.

"Um, ah, hallo Prongs. I'll just be, uh, getting to my fitting now…" He walked quickly to the other side of the Great Hall and prepared to subject himself to Peter's evil pins.

Lily, meanwhile, took a deep breath and turned slowly back towards Brittany, who was standing at the other end of the partition, looking a little bit frightened.

"I'm sorry about that, Brittany. I'm all right now. Where do you want me to stand for this?" Brittany pointed at a small, quickly-fashioned wooden platform and went to fetch a box of pins. She quietly go to work, remaining silent until she felt Lily relax and fully calm down. When their work was complete, Lily thanked Brittany and stepped out. She bumped into Melissa, who had already spoken with Sirius.

"Hey, Lily. Wanna know where Black's run off to?"

"How could I not?" Melissa returned Lily's mischievous grin and gave her knowledge Sirius' whereabouts before entering the tent for her own fittings.

Lily made her way up to the Divination Room as quietly as she could, trying to keep the steps beneath her feet from creaking. She had her wand in her hand and a few select items from Zonko's joke shop stuffed into her pockets. Quietly, she whispered the spell to unlock the trapdoor that would let her enter the classroom. She pushed up on the wooden planks quietly and stuck her head up just far enough to see. Sirius was sprawled on eight or nine of the fluffy seat cushions and was about to drift off, his hand drowsily searching for another Pumpkin Pasty. Lily flicked her wand and replaced the treat he was about to grab with a dungbomb. She then proceeded to switch out the rest of the treats with other prank-related items. She watched as Sirius tried to bite into a sweet Pumpkin Pasty but ended up with a mouthful of foul-tasting smoke. He woke up instantly and sat up. In doing so, he set off two firecrackers and another dungbomb. He tried to stand, but only succeeded in stepping on the tail of a chocolate frog-turned- angry Bowtruckle. The evil little creature climbed up Sirius' leg and made it way up to his shoulder. It then started to inflict several scratches on Sirius' face.

Finally, after watching him set off numerous other traps, Lily took pity on Sirius and made all the debris from her prank disappear. Sirius blinked his eyes, a bit confused, until he saw Lily's head poking up out of the trap door.

"Well, what did you expect?" she asked in answer to his slightly betrayed-looking expression. "You looked in on me getting dressed, I told you I'd get you back for it, and here we are. Now, I'll heal those nasty Bowtruckle scratches for you, to save you from making any uncomfortable excuses to Madame Pomfrey." Lily waved her wand, and Sirius' face was as good as new, thanks to her healer training.

"Thanks for the healing, I guess."

"No problem. But if this happens again, don't think I'll be so kind. Although I don't think I need to worry about you peeking at me while I'm half naked ever again, do I?" Sirius shook his head frantically.

"Didn't think so. I'll see you at supper." She grinned at Sirius, leaving him standing awestruck in the middle of the Divination classroom. Lily Evans was brilliant. If she wasn't dating his best friend, and if Melissa didn't have an equally crafty mind, he didn't doubt that he would be in love. Although her temper was a bit of a turn-off… Sirius shrugged and dusted himself off, muttering a quick spell that a sense of reputation had made him learn in order to dispel bad odors. He then flopped back down on his pillows and took a nap.

**So? Thoughts? Comments? Complaints as to why it took so damn long for me to update if I can write a chapter in only two hours? Either way, please review. :D**


	29. A Lesson to be Learned

**Oh my, it's actually another chapter! Hope you like, and sorry for the wait.**

Lily walked up and down the Great Hall, imagining what it would look like the night of the play. The stage would be set across from the platform where the teachers sat, with benches set in rows between for the students. The curtains would be a magnificent shade of midnight blue, lined with silver tassels. The scenery would be wonderful. The costumes even better. Everything would be perfect and everyone at Hogwarts would have a splendid evening.

At least, that's the way it was in her mind before she saw Sirius and James flinging paint at each other. She watched in amusement at first, but then the two started running around the room. Sirius picked up a can of paint and was threatening to dump it over James' head. It was all rather entertaining before Sirius closed the gap between him and James and held the can of paint in the air, ready to let it go. In one quick movement, James turned and pushed Sirius. Sirius stumbled into Melissa, pushing her back into Tracy, who then spilled green paint all over the blue sky. Lily watched as the four disentangled themselves and stood. After noticing the damage that was done, she glared at Sirius, who looked at her warily

"Look. At what you've done. You've ruined the set! Why would you ever think that dumping a can of paint—paint that _I_ paid for— was a good idea?" She rounded on James. "And _you_. If you hadn't pushed him this wouldn't have even been a problem!"

"Now, Lily. It can be fixed. Just relax." James stepped forward and put his paint-flecked hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "Fortunately, the paint you bought is easy to clean up and easy to cover up with the correct colors. Everything will be fine. Right?"

"Yes, the problem can be fixed, James." Lily pushed his hands away and took a step back, arms crossed. "But it doesn't change the fact that you and Sirius continue to act like children when you're Seventh Years. You and he will fix the set. And then afterwards, you will scrub the paint off the floors-" Lily caught James' small smile. "_Without_ magic. By hand. The _entire_ floor. Understand?" James nodded guiltily.

"Okay. Get to work," Lily said quietly. "Everybody else, you can leave. But don't worry about cleaning up after yourselves. James and Sirius have volunteered to take care of everything."

When James and Sirius entered the Gryffindor Common Room later that afternoon, their hands were wrinkled like prunes and they smelled like soap. They dragged their feet up the stairs to their dormitory and didn't come back down for a couple of hours. When they did, Lily was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you have fun, boys?" They shrugged their shoulders wearily.

"I know you did. I hope you understand why I told you clean up?" They nodded glumly.

"Right. Well, I realize you two must be very tired, so I took a trip down to the kitchen…" The boys perked up a little, hope shining in their eyes. "And I got the house elves to prepare something special for you at dinner tonight. Just make sure to be on time. Yes?" They nodded. Lily smiled back at them, giving James a quick kiss on the cheek before she left them to get some rest after their hard day's work.

When Lily entered the Great Hall later that night, she was astounded at the way the floor sparkled. She smiled with satisfaction. The boys really _had_ done a great job. Tracy and Melissa, as they walked beside her, said the same thing. Lily hoped she hadn't been too hard on the boys, and she hoped that they understood the difference between their friend Lily and their Director. Truth be told, she felt a small twinge of guilt. But that's why she had asked the house elves to do a little extra work. She knew the boys would enjoy it.

She smiled at everyone as she took her seat next to James. She squeezed his hand affectionately as Dumbledore clinked his fork against his glass and the food started to appear. Lily watched James' face closely as every one of his and Sirius' favorite dishes filled the serving platters in front of them. Their goblets filled with the best Butterbeer in all of London. The boys grinned at each other and dug in. Lily watched with satisfaction before following their lead and heaping her plate with the best that the house elves had to offer. She was glad that tomorrow they could start fresh and get some quality work done on the play. The sets needed to be painted and the costumes completed. Not to mention all the lines that people still had to commit to memory. It would need at least another month at the pace they were going to be ready.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to anyone else working the play except Snape, she had scheduled the date with Dumbledore to be in two weeks.

**I know, it's short. Too short for the amount of time it's been since I last updated. Can you forgive me? :( Even if you can't, please review. I am open to constructive criticism and new ideas!**


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